Book Report: Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really fascinated with the amount of research that Mr. Gladwell did to write this book. His insights were completely out of my 'box'. It certainly got me to thinking at a different level.

He defined an 'outlier' as something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body. Also, a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the other of the sample. "Outliers are those who have been given opportunities and who have the strength and presence of mind to seize them."

Briefly, here are some of his outliers:
1. The year you were born matters as related to the cut-off date for joining a sport team.
2. 10,000 hours is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert in anything, i.e. Beatles, Bill Gates, Paul Allen. Their success was also a product of the world in which they grew up.
3. Intellect and achievement are far from perfectly correlated. If a study group consisting of all geniuses is formed work on a project, the success of the project would have been the same level of success if IQ was not considered as a qualifier.
4. No one ever makes it alone. That includes rock stars, professional athletes, software billionaires, or Chris Langan, the smartest man in the world.
5. Three Lessons from Joe Flom-1. Importance of being Jewish 2. Demographic luck-time born. 3. The Garment Industry and meaningful work.
6. Harlan, Kentucky (Chapter 6) Die like a man like your brother did. It makes a difference not only where your father or grandfather grew up, but also, your great, great, great, great Grandfather.
7. Planes are safer when the least experienced pilot is flying because it means that the second pilot is not afraid to speak up.
8. National cultures are most content when they place the highest emphasis on effort and hard work. If you speak English you have about a 50% chance of remembering perfectly a group of numbers. If you speak Chinese, you have almost a 100% chance to get it right.
9.For its poorest students, America doesn't have a school problem. It has a summer vacation problem.
Maybe these bits and pieces will entice you to read 'Outliers: The Story of Success'. Also, be sure and read the Epilogue, a Jamaican Story.

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