Not too long ago, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller “The Tipping Point.” He defines The Tipping Point as that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire.
He explores the fact that just a single person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate based on three characteristics. One, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment.
Of the three, the third trait—the idea that epidemics can rise or fall in one dramatic moment—is the most important, because it is the principle that makes sense of the first two and permits the greatest insight into why modern change happens the way it does. These are the same principles that define how measles move through a grade school classroom or the flu attacks every winter.
It’s a fascinating book that provides plenty of examples of how previously unknown products have become bestsellers virtually overnight, many of which you will recognize. If this subject interests you, this book is for you; I give it thumbs up.