The Tipping Point - Final Presentation

1. Final presentation by :
Camil HIRIDJEE
Nicolas DI VITANTONIO
Emeric CASTEL
Balthazar RENOUARD DE BUSSIERE
Guillaume DELACOUR
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
ESCE 318
Teacher : Mr. SERAFINOWICZ

2. I) Reading question 1
II) Reading question 2
III) Reading question 3 by Camil
IV) Reading question 3 by Nicolas
V) Reading question 4
VI) The link between all analysis
Table of contents

3. On chapter one, Gladwell took the example of Darnell "Boss Man" McGee
and Nushawn Williams : describe the utility, the meaning and the function of
these examples.
• Boss Man and Williams are clones
• Their charm allow them to have a huge influence on women
• Boss Man had sex with more than 100 women in 2 years (30 infected)
• Williams infected at least 16 girls with AIDS
• Without that kind of people, we are not able to spread thing (even if there is a
negative impact)
• They have enough social connections, energy, enthusiasm, personnality to spread
• Having sex was a need for them  involuntary because it’s mandatory
• Extraordinary people spread without constraint or necessity : they spread because
they believe in what they are spreading (ex. Fashion)
• If you believe in what you are spreading, it changes the way you spread
• Gladwell is focusing on successful epidemic  Boss Man and Williams are
extraordinary people for him
Reading question 1

4. According to Gladwell, persuasion is something complex. Thanks to the
second chapter, judge this aspect of persuasion (salesman).
• Paul Gau  Salesman  energy, enthusiasm, charm and likability
• A Maven is not persuader even if he has qualities mentionned above
• A persuader has this ability to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we
are hearing.
• Gladwell said that persuasion is something tough and complex to understand.
What makes someone or something persuasive is a lot less straightforward than it
seems.
• On this chapter he highlighted three ideas of persuasion :
– Little things can make as much of a difference as big things
– Non verbal cues are as important as verbal cues (use non verbal communication)
– Persuasion often works in ways that we don't appreciate (hidden processes)
• We totally agree with Gladwell : persuasion is not only linked to the eloquence or
the personnality of someone. It’s the ability to persuade through processes
mentionned above.
• Gladwell example about Gau’s technique was clever : the door-in-the-face to buy a
house.
Reading question 2

5. Summary of Chapter 2 : The law of the few
• The law of the few is one of the three agents of change
• 80% of the people do 20% of the job  extraordinary people
• Gladwell divided these exceptional people in three categories
– Connectors
– Mavens
– Salesman
• Connectors : they link people, they create a network around them, they are “social
glue”, they spread information very easily, they use “weak ties” who are simple
acquaintances (ex. Revere with British or Horchow with the new restaurant)
• Maven : database, they gather information, the suggest the best deal because
they are able to compare (ex. Alpert and Hotel in L.A), they spread the best
information because they believe on their analysis. We have a tendency to listen
them carefully
• Salesman : they are efficient to spread info by convincing other (ex. ABC journalist
and Reagan). They create a harmony with the person in front of them.
• We think that we all have a part of each category : we all have a Maven part, a
connector part and a salesman part but some are more Maven than salesman.
• And some people undergo the law of the few : their part of Maven-ness, Salesman
attitude and Weak-tie ability is very low.
Reading question 3 by Camil

6. Chapter 2 : The law of the few ; How could we apply Gladwell's
principles to the management of a company?
• To market a product, we should identify and try to reach the connectors
• Connectors allow a bigger brand awareness for our product
• Mavens are what Marketing specialists called prescribers : the external
communication about the company – and the product – shoud target
them
• The salesman has to work in the company (sales department)
Reading question 3 by Nicolas

7. Analytical summary of the section 2 - chapter 3 (p.99 to p.110)
• Gladwell is using the example of the famous TV show « Sesame Street »
• Sesame Street is a show made for children. The goal was to use TV to teach them
some basic knowledge. To do that, the show used Muppets to stimulate the
audience and make the show more sticky
• Children are not receptive the same manner as adults when they are watching the
TV : they are active and like clear and logical show while adults are passive and
prefer exaggeration and action
• Children are able to do many things at the same time but they will retain important
information (even if they are not 100% focus on the show)
• Confused things make kids attention very low
• We need to know the audience to do something which will be adapted to it
(business context)
• The distracter of Ed Palmer is an example of how to catch attention
• On one hand, when a show is mixing fantasy and reality it works well for kids but
on the other hand, it has to make sense, to be logical and clear : this is the
complexity of the limit (also work in the business : will this amount keep the
stickiness of my offer/product ?)
• There is a physical aspect of humans which accept stickiness (example of eyes)
Reading question 4

8. • Boss Man and Williams are considered as these few extraordinary people
who are able to spread something very easily.
• We can imagine that Boss Man and Williams are Connectors : they
probably had sex with friends but also with acquaintances (weak tie)
• Each of us has a Maven part, a Connector part and a Salesman part (the
ratio of each part is different within each human) + some people undergo
the law of the few by having a very low ratio for each part.
• Salesman are using tools to spread their information  connectors and
Mavens’ attitude is probably more natural. Is the persuasion aspect
something natural and innate ?
• Through the example of Sesame Street, Gladwell is showing us that if
something is sticky, people will show interest towards this thing. And if
among these people we have extraordinary people (3 categories), we can
be sure that a phenomenon of spreading will take place, as an epidemic
The link between all analysis

9. Thanks for your attention

10. Thanks for your attention