Comments on: My brief review of ‘outliers’

By: Clinton

Clinton — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:32:09 +0000

Hi Nic,

Nice review. Just wondering what you think of Malcom Gladwell’s over books, ‘Blink’ and ‘The Tipping Point’?

By: Andrew Larsen

Andrew Larsen — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:01:27 +0000

Great review Nic, I love it! And I imagine that I would not have been the only one reading this and thinking about how it applies in my life both retrospectively and in shaping the future. The path I am on compared to the path I could have been on are in all probability miles apart. It’s probably akin to the ‘Sliding Doors’ principle in our lives.

Drew

By: Nic

Nic — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:33:45 +0000

Yeah – there were a few later chapters that seemed like ‘filler’ material – nevertheless, the other chapters made up for that. So, Elizabeth Shannon – cheers right backatcha for dedication, persistence and passion. And why don’t we throw in strategy and technique as well …

By: Elizabeth Shannon

Elizabeth Shannon — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:24:21 +0000

Yep, found the book revealing, but preferred his other book Blink actually.
I get the 10,000 hours, and a comment you made yourself Nic “the hard way is the easy way” – i.e. it requires a lot of dedication, persistence and work!
He started losing me in the chapters that celebrated achedemic achievement and high marks a little too much. I personally love the stories in my life of supposed ‘failures’ who make their way to huge achievements, in spite of unsupportive environments and families and low achedemic achievement. I’d like to see some real studies on all of that, too.
And then there are the families that ‘nurture’ their children from young ages into the occupations they actually wanted to do themselves. Yikes!
Great to read about success components, don’t wish to be negative. It’s a good read, and I’m looking forward to Tipping Point next.
Cheers to dedication, persistence and passion.

By: Nic

Nic — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:07:32 +0000

Thanks Matthew – and yes. Taking it a step further, Jeff Jarvis has commented that “you’re worst customer could be your best friend” – meaning that constructive criticism doesn’t have to only come from trusted confidants – it may come from complete strangers who are prepared to tell you the truth as they see it.

By: Matthew Stewart

Matthew Stewart — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:35:24 +0000

Damn! I left my copy with a friend in Germany. No chance to keep handing it around.

A good appraisal of the book, Nic. I think the key point you make about the 10,000 hours principle is that we should be “critically reflective and we should actively seek constructive criticism rather than shy away from it”. Ten thousands hours of practice will not get you far without critical self-reflection and reflection from outside sources.

By: David Bullock Review

David Bullock Review — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:04:21 +0000

[...] recently wrote a blog post about Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, in which I said we need to focus on creating opportunities – those ‘lucky’ [...]