Tipping pointers to remember

THIS WEEK’S WINNER

MANILA, Philippines - Nellie D. Beley, Ph.D., is a retired mathematics professor from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She has also taught at Ortañez College, Santa Isabel College and in Batangas State University. She was part of the board of advisers of three mathematics textbooks for college and high school. She divides her time between her farm in Nueva Ecija, where she is commercially growing orchids and organic vegetables, and being with her only daughter based in Newark, New Jersey.

In all my years in academe, this is perhaps the most accessible and fascinating book I’ve had the good fortune to come across: a meticulously researched and extremely well-organized synthesis of the anatomy of social phenomena. It explores the underlying factors of a staggering array of significant social epidemics such as the rise (and fall) of New York City’s crime rate in the 1980s, and the rise (and fall) of teen suicide rates in Micronesia recently. This magnificent book also encompasses intellectually entertaining stories of why (and how) little things — like Hush Puppies shoes and Blue’s Clues — made such a big difference in popular culture.

You may have already guessed that I am enthusing about Malcolm Gladwell’s No. 1 bestseller The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference. Gladwell, whose curriculum vitae shows Harvard University and The New Yorker, has this blessed gift of writing, of being able to express abstract ideas as concrete things anybody can understand at gut level. I will give you one example. Most of you grew up on Sesame Street, arguably the greatest and definitely the most groundbreaking, children’s show on TV. The most famous characters, however, like Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleleupaggus, were latecomers; when the visionary producers realized that it was okay to mix human and muppets, against the warnings of child psychologists, the show took off and succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations.

On the other hand, how come Blue’s Clues, another children’s TV show, became successful — but using exactly the opposite format? At first glance this may seem odd, unless we probe deeper. Sesame Street is like a magazine, with each section a maximum of three minutes long, ostensibly to adapt to children’s proverbial short attention span. Another thing going for Sesame Street is the intelligent writing aimed at both children and adults. Blue’s Clues goes the opposite direction. For one thing, each 30-minute episode is devoted to only one simple plot — such as “What is Blue’s favorite animal?” — and the host/narrator Steve investigates the clues left by Blue. But perhaps the most radical divergence is that Blue’s Clues shows the same episode for a week.

The underlying reason for this is that preschoolers are surrounded by things that are new to them, so it is very important to look for understanding and predictability. In this context, repetition becomes a friend; as they watch the show again and again, they understand it more, and this understanding translates to feelings of affirmations and self-worth.

For Hush Puppies, the owners themselves were stunned by its incredible exponential growth. The tipping point came in between late 1994 and early 1995, which during the time the company was on the verge of near-bankruptcy. But a strange thing happened. They began hearing stories of a growing cult trend in SoHo and Greenwich area, and not after, famous designers like John Bartlett and Anna Sui called up, asking for Hush Puppies shoes for their events. Since then, the increased sales defied logic; and in 1996, Hush Puppies was honored by the Council of Fashion Designers at the Lincoln Center, alongside Donna Karan and Calvin Klein.

So how did that happen? It started as a fashion statement among a few teenagers. “Those first few kids, whoever they were, weren’t deliberately trying to promote Hush Puppies,” explains Gladwell. “They were wearing them precisely because no one else would wear them. Then the fad spread to two fashion designers who used the shoes to peddle something else — haute couture. The shoes were an incidental touch. No one was trying to make Hush Puppies a trend. Yet, somehow, that’s exactly what happened. The shoes passed a certain point in popularity and then tipped.”

Gladwell shares three short stories that are related, although they don’t seem to be, at first. As every American school boy knows, Paul Revere plunged headlong into history with his legendary “Midnight ride.” It began as a seemingly inconsequential exchange. In April 1775, a British army officer told a fellow officer about “Hell to pay tomorrow.” This was overheard by a young stable boy who, in turn, told the charismatic anti-colonialist leader Paul Revere. Revere, who has heard rumors and have seen increased activity in the HMS Somerset and HMS Boyne at the Boston Harbor. From Charleston, Revere jumped on a horse and rode all the way to Lexington, warning everybody along the way that the British were invading. The resulting warning from a famous and charismatic Revere saved thousands of lives and gave birth to the American Revolution.

This is our second story. Gladwell tells of the fascinating interview with Mark Alpert, Ph.D., of the Texas School of Business Administration, an economist — and a walking encyclopedia. Their conversation covered a wide range of topics, mostly in the forms of tips from Alpert, such as why Gladwell should not buy an Audi or why he should stay at Park Central Hotel when he was in Manhattan. He’s a goldmine of information. “Mark Alpert is a wonderfully unselfish man,” says colleague Leigh MacAllister. “I would say he saved me $15,000 when I fist came to Austin. He helped me negotiate the house, because he understands the real estate game.”

Then there’s Tom Gau, another unassuming man with an extraordinary ability. He’s a financial planner in Torrance, California. Gau gives his clients a level of service and expertise that prove indispensable. He has even written a book, detailing his comprehensive answers to all kinds of possible objections by buyers. “What was interesting about Gau is the extent to which he seemed to be persuasive,” says Gladwell. “He seems to have some kind of indefinable trait, something powerful and contagious and irresistible that goes beyond what comes out of his mouth, that makes people who meet him want to agree with him. It’s energy. It’s enthusiasm. It’s charm.”

According to Gladwell’s intensive research and analysis, not to mention his original and penetrating insight, “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” This helps explains the incredible turnaround of Hush Puppies, the success of opposites, Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues, the inexplicable drop in the crime rate in New York City and the suicide rate in Micronesia — not to mention the spread of John Wesley’s Methodism movement in 1780s, the decrease of the drug menace in Baltimore in the 1990s, the acceptance of hybrid corn seed by Iowa farmers in the 1930s, the stability of the small but multibillion- dollar high-tech firm Gore Associates based in Delaware, the publishing success of Rebecca Wells’ 1996 book Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and a whole lot more.

Tippings points depend upon the participation of three kinds of people — Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Tom Gau is a Salesman, a mental alchemist who can transmute objections into resounding agreements. Mark Alpert is a Maven, a fountain of knowledge, the go-to person whenever you want to know something. Paul Revere was a Connector, possessing that indispensable but indefinable x-factor called charisma. It sounds so wonderfully concise, and now you know why Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors, and why The Tipping Point is my favorite book.