Accidental Guru - Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell's new book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is the New Yorker writer's latest book, focusing on the phenomenon of how "our ability to read people's intentions is paralyzed in high-stress situations." His first book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference moved him from a staff writer to a marketing guru - or even god. "His New Yorker articles have become reading for B-school students." However, when asked about the influence he has had on America, he reminds them that even best sellers reach less than 1% of Americans.

Yet, it's who he is reaching that has made the difference. Starbucks' Howard Schultz says the tipping-point is what "made" his company. Gladwell created a system of classification that is divided into "connectors, mavens and salesmen", and companies have redesigned their entire Relationship Management strategies to fit the model. Companies started hiring and deploying into the field "key influencers", and making The Tipping Point required reading. Simmons Market Research then "created the Tipping Point Segmentation System - syndicated research clients can use in order to understand how to reach the 12.5% of the U.S. population that falls within Gladwell's classification of tipping-point segments."
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