Book: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
ISBN 0316346624
Reviewer: Agha Shahriyar Khan

"Small changes can make a big impact if you have belief, focus and right environment."

Review:

The Tipping Point is all about social epidemics. It teaches its readers how a social idea becomes contagious and spread like a wild fire? What are the factors which contribute in social epidemics? What type of people and what sort of environment are required for an idea or fashion to become rampant? If one has to summaries the whole book in one sentence then it should be: Small changes can make a big impact if you have belief, focus and right environment.

The book elucidates three factors which it calls laws for an idea to become epidemic. The first factor is “Law of the few”. It means certain type of people contribute enormously in making an idea epidemic then the rest of the people. The author also divided these particular class in three categories: The connectors- people who have vast social circle and their role is to spread the idea through their word of mouth, The Mavens- they are opinion leaders, and The salesman- people who persuade the masses about a particular idea.

The second law is the "stickiness factor". It is about the content of message or idea one wants to spread. Slight improvement in the structure, format and presentation of the message enhance its stickiness and catch the audience attention more rapidly.

The third and most important factor is the "power of context". It is about knowing your audiencce and milieu. It explains how external factors: environment, social norms, and peer pressure work in social epidemics.

The strong point of this book is that the author explains his ideas with help of several case studies and research work of various psychologists and sociologists. This style helps the reader to comprehend the topic much better. Besides, language and flow of this book also make it a page turner.

However, the author, in order to make his point clear, gives supplementary examples at various places which make his writing redundant and increases the overall size of the book.

Nevertheless, this book is must read for a anyone- an entrepreneur, social worker, reformist, youtuber, politician, administrator etc.- who wants his idea to become epidemic or wants a social change

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“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”