Outliers: The Story of Success
Yesterday I read Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell is a master storyteller, no doubt about it. I first discovered his work when I saw this video and got really excited when I read his first book The Tipping Point.
It’s not a long book, I read it in about 4 hours. The important part is the thinking that the book triggers. I’ve started reading my favourite chapters again. Outliers isn’t your typical ‘make me feel better about myself’ book. The first chapter actually made me feel depressed.
Gladwell tries to explain why successful people are successful. He theorises that success is largely due not to IQ but to our environment and community. According to Gladwell timing, opportunities and luck are important factors in whether a person of reasonable intelligence is successful.
The examples he presents to back up his theories are convincing and engaging. One of my favourite parts is where he describes the plight of Chris Lagan who has a higher IQ than Einstein and is not lacking in motivation yet is still relatively unsuccessful.
Who should read this book? Everyone. In particular, those interested in people and what determines their success because it’s not what you would expect.
