The Tipping Point

1
The Tipping Point

• How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
• By Malcolm Gladwell
• Presented by Laura Urschel

2
The tipping point defined.

• Small events or changes which have a dramatic
  impact.
• Examples
• Hush Puppies in New York City
• Disease outbreak in Baltimore, MD
• Crime in Brownsville and East New York

3
Epidemics

• Contagiousness - Ideas, products, messages and
  behaviors spread just like viruses do.
• Little causes have big effects.
• Change happens not gradually but at one dramatic
  moment.

4
The Tipping Point

• Is the name given to that one dramatic moment in
  an epidemic when everything can change all at
  once.
• Examples
• Role models in a community(5.)
• White Flight (20.)
• Fax Machines (1987)
• Cell Phones (1998)

5
The three rules of the Tipping Point

• The Law of the Few (80/20)
• The Stickiness Factor There are specific ways
  of making a contagious message memorable.
• The Power of Context Example reporting crime
  and anonymity.

6
The Law of the Few

• The three types of people that effect Change
• Connectors People who know many people and
  diffuse ideas.
• Mavens Collectors and disseminators of
  information.
• Salesmen Sells ideas put forward by connectors
  and mavens.

7
Lessons of the Tipping Point

• Starting epidemics requires concentrating
  resources on a few key areas.
• The law of the few says that connectors, mavens,
  and salesmen are responsible for starting
  word-of-mouth epidemics.
• Example hair dressers in San Diego.

8
The Lessons of the Tipping Point

• The world is not in line with our intuition.
• Those who are successful at creating social
  epidemics deliberately test their intuitions.
  Example Blues Clues and Sesame Street
• We are powerfully influenced by our surroundings,
  our immediate context, and the personalities of
  those around us.

9
Conclusion

• In the end Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of
  the potential for change and the power of
  intelligent action. Look at the world around
  you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable
  place. It is not. With the slightest push in
  just the right place it can be tipped.
  (Gladwell pg 259)

10
Implications for Change Leadership

• Change agents can use the principles of the
  tipping point to deliberately start and control
  positive epidemics of their own.
• Focus and target interventions.
• Test your intuitions.
• Believe that change is possible.