Tipping Point Discussion Questions
Introduction
1) What was the point Gladwell makes with the Hush Puppy story? Hush Puppy is a kind of classic American shoes which were considered to be old fashioned in 1994. However, because no one would wear Hush Puppy in that age, this kind of shoes became so unique and catch some fashion designer’s attention, and then Hush Puppy became popular again. Hush Puppy story is an example of epidemics in action, through this story, Gladwell demonstrated the contagious behavior. 2) List the principles of change and epidemics.
1. Contagiousness
2. Little causes have big effects
3. Change happens at one point, not gradually – tipping point 3) Talk about critical mass and boiling point.
In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80 percent of crimes. Twenty percent of motorists cause 80 percent of all accidents. Twenty percent of beer drinkers drink 80 percent of all beer. When it comes to epidemics, though, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme: a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.
Chapter 2 1) What is the most important form of communication? How does communication relate to the broader issues of change management? Communication is the foundation of management. And the book pointed out that word of mouth is the most important form of communication. Communication can be a difficult issue for change management because it is difficult for people to accept new ideas and changes. Through effective communication, problems, ideas and suggestions can be delivered quickly, which can help change management achieve the goal easier. 2) What are the characteristics of a “connector”? The article describes “Connectors” as people with a special gift for bringing the world together. Connectors are easy to reach by other group members. Rather than just know a lot of people, Connectors know people who have the ability and power to help the group. 3) What does the author mean when he says “weak ties” are more important than strong ties? Strong ties exists among persons lives and works very close. These people normally knows each a lot, everyone would