Source: Outliers: The Story of Success by: Malcolm Gladwell O u t l i e r s T HE S TORY OF S UCCESS M ALCOLM G LADWELL Book Summary by: Warren Barhorst

Source: Outliers: The Story of Success by: Malcolm Gladwell

O u t l i e r s

THE STORY OF SUCCESS

MALCOLM GLADWELL

Book Summary by: Warren Barhorst


out li er\-,lī(-ə)r\ noun1. Something that is situated away from or

classed differently from a main or related body

2. A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample


“The Roseto Mystery” No suicide No alcoholism No addiction No welfare No crime No ulcers 41% of calories from fat Big fat smokers“These people were dying from old age, that’s it.”


“The Roseto Mystery” Must have been genetics Must have been diet Must have been exercise Must have been the area the lived Must have been….


“The Roseto Mystery”What caused it? 22 Civic organizations Three generations under one roof Friends talking on the street

Transplanted the Paesani culture from Southern Italy

Insulated them from the pressures of the modern world


“The Matthew Effect”

“For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

- Matthew 25:29



• “People don’t rise from nothing.”• “We do owe something to parentage and

patronage.”• “The people who stand before kings may look like

they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantage and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.”



• What makes an “all-star” and “all-star”

• “coaches might as well have told everyone born after midsummer that they should pack their bags and go home.”

• They have to practice hard but they do have a hidden opportunity over others.



What’s you hidden opportunity?


“The 10,000 - Hour Rule”

“In Hamburg, we had to play for eight hours.”

- John Lennon



• Not all hockey players born in January become “all-stars”

• Do they have innate talent?

• “Achievement is talent plus preparation.”

• Preparation plays the biggest role



• What makes a musician?

Practice

• Music Teachers = 4,000 hours

• Good Musicians = 8,000 hours

• Great Musicians = 10,000 hours / 10 Years

There Are No Naturals and No Grinds!



The Beatles

• Started in 1957

• Hamburg

• Performed 1200 times before burst of success

• Landed in America 1964

• Sgt Peppers 1967



• “They work much, much harder.”

• In study after study and industry after industry

• The Magic Number is?

10,000 hours

• “It seems that is takes the brain this long to assimilate all that is needs to know to achieve true mastery.” -Daniel Levitin



• Bill Gates 1955 / 1968 / Lakeside / U of W / C3/ TRW

• Paul Allen 1953 / 1968 / Lakeside / U of W / C3/ TRW

• Steve Jobs 1955 / 1969 / Silicon Valley / Hewlett Packard

• Bill Joy 1954 / 1971/ U of M / Bug / Summer Job / Unix

What’s your Hamburg?


“The Troubles with Genius, Part 1”

“Knowledge of a boy’s IQ is of little help if you are faced with a formful of clever boys.”

- Liam Hudson



• Average IQ = 100• Einstein IQ = 150• Henry Crowell IQ = 140 • Chris Langan IQ = 195• “Termites” Genetic Studies of Genius by Lewis Terman

Nothing can hold folks this smart back, right?

It is more about opportunity than it is about talent!



“A basketball player only has to be tall enough”

“A mature scientist with an adult IQ of 130 is as likely to win a Nobel Prize as one whose IQ is 180.”

- Liam Hudson“The relationship between success and IQ works only up

to a point.”

You only have to be smart enough!



Extraordinary intelligence is of little use if we want to understand a persons chance of being successful in the world.



“After protracted negotiations, it was agreed that Robert would be put on probation.”



• Chris Langan - Harvard backwards

• Robert Oppenheimer – Tried to kill his tutor.

Get the world to see things your way!



Do you have Practical Intelligence?

• Knowing what to say

• Knowing whom to say it to

• Knowing when to say it

• Knowing how to say it



Where does Practical Intelligence come from?

• Born smart – IQ is innate

• Social savvy is learned knowledge



Two types of Parenting

• Heavily involved and scheduled– Creates the right to pursue their individualism

• Not involved and unscheduled – Creates a sense of distance

It is not genetic, its not racial, its cultural


“The Three Lessons of Joe Flom”

“Mary Got a Quarter”



“Successful people don’t do it alone. Where they come from matters. They’re products of particular places and environments.”



1. The Importance of Being Jewish• Being told no

2. Demographic Luck• Texas

3. The Garment Industry and Meaningful Work• Generational evolution


“Harlan Kentucky”

“Die like a man, like your brother did!”


“Harlan Kentucky”

• Hatfields and McCoys

• Farmers and herders

• Culture of honor

Understand and overcome your cultural legacy


“The Ethnic Theory of Plan Crashes”

“Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot.”


“The Ethnic Theory of Plan Crashes”

• It takes a series of events (7)

• Hierarchy

• Cultural communications

• Cultural ambiguity

You must communicate up and down the hierarchy and and across the cultural highway


“Rice Paddies and Math Tests”

“No one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich.”



• Rice paddies are not simple crop fields

• Great yield requires details attention

• Size of a hotel room

• Complex meaningful work

• Effort equals reward



• Math system creates success

• 23 is two – tens – three

• 37+22 = 59

• Convert words to numbers

• 3 10’s 7 and 2 10’s 2 = 5 10’s 9

• No conversion


“Rice Paddies and Math Tests”Position of proverbs

• Russian Proverb: “If God does not bring it the earth will not give it.”

• Chinese Proverbs: – “If man works hard, the land will not be lazy.”– “No food without blood and sweat.”– “Don’t depend on heaven for food, but on your own two

hands carrying the load.”

Cultural legacy helps with success


“Marita’s Bargain”

“All of my friends now are from KIPP”

Lessons of the rice paddy in American cities



Overcome your cultural legacy

• KIPP Academy 5th to 8th – 50% African American– 50% Hispanic– 75% from single parent homes– 90% qualify for free lunch


“Marita’s Bargain”Hard work – Long Hours – New Friends

• Long Commute• 7:25 AM to 5:00 PM some till 7:00 PM

– Saturday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

– Summer 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM

• 50% to 60% more learning time• Homework till Midnight• Discipline and SSLANT protocol



Success

• 84% at grade level or above

• Test Scores equal in math to the best schools in America

• 90% Scholarships to private or parochial high schools

• 80% attend college


Take Away• Give and Live a happy life• Be thankful and find your hidden opportunity• There are no child prodigies. 10,000 hours• You only have to be smart enough• Develop your knowledge and practical intelligence• Keep moving forward… no may mean yes• Cultural legacy• Communication is critical • Positive attitude and hard work• Anybody can do it

“The outlier in the end is not an outlier at all.”

Documents

Source: Outliers: The Story of Success by: Malcolm Gladwell O u t l i e r s T HE S TORY OF S UCCESS M ALCOLM G LADWELL Book Summary by: Warren Barhorst