Thinking allowed

Jun 16 2009 By Alun Thorne

Ahead of his appearance in Birmingham, author Malcolm Gladwell shares the secrets of success with Alun Thorne.

By Malcolm Gladwell’s calculations, I should be rather good at this journalism business. According to his most recent offering, the 10,000-hour rule is central to an individual’s success at any given skill.

The rule states that 10,000 hours of practice is a prerequisite for brilliance and essential for an individual to stand out from the crowd.

In his world-wide best-seller Outliers, Gladwell looks at a number of some of the world’s most gifted individuals and time and again finds a dedication to practice as the bedrock of their success.

Unfortunately, while this amount of practice is essential for elevation to mercurial, it is no guarantee as the fact I have been a journalist for almost twice the required number of hours clearly testifies.

The 10,000 hour rule is just one aspect of Gladwell’s examination into the disparate elements that make certain people more successful than others and in Outliers he has secured his reputation as one of the most accessible thinkers of his generation.

The book is his third following the phenomenal success of his two earlier works, Tipping Point and Blink, and on June 25 this year he will be appearing at Birmingham Town Hall to deliver what he describes as an “old fashioned lecture and a performance” covering ground from the three books. It has been quite a journey for Gladwell who, despite having sold millions of books in dozens of languages, is still amazed at how his work has resonated with such a wide audience.

“I was a writer for the Washington Post and was a science writer although I really don’t know an awful lot about science and I just fell in love with all this psychology and sociology.

“It is a journalist’s job to find interesting stories and I was just writing around the things that I found interesting – I enjoy rooting around to find insights. I see myself as providing a link between academia and the public. There is an amazing amount of funny material to be found in the world.

“I am surprised by the success of my books. It’s not the general notion that books like this should do well.”

In Outliers the New Yorker writer argues that there are a multitude of factors that play a role in success with natural talent only relevant alongside a number of other cultural factors and good old-fashioned luck.

One chapter deals with relationship between national cultural characteristics and airline crashes that could certainly make you think twice about ever flying with some airlines.

Another chapter looks at the startling statistic that the vast majority of National League ice hockey players in Canada are born in January or February, benefiting from the fact that the age cut off date is January 1 so the more developed children enjoy preferential treatment from an early age and this carries right through to adulthood.

The stark message from the book is that streaming children from an early age clearly disadvantages those children born at the other end of the school year and that this is a disadvantage from which many children never recover.

An analysis of test scores in US also seemed to find that differing attainment between children had almost nothing to do with their school environment but almost everything to do with what was going on at home – basically those children who’s brains were engaged at home as well as at school did far better than those who’s brains were only ever engaged in the classroom. These are arguments that go to the very heart of the fundamental well-being of our society but Gladwell’s aim is not to dictate policy, merely to direct the debate.

“I’m not so influential that I get to sit down with these decision makers,” he said. “I am supposed to spark interest. It is not my goal to persuade them but to start a conversation. Part of the debate is: do kids go to school enough days? What can we do to improve things for kids if we don’t talk about how long they are at school? My role is to define what is up for discussion.”

All three of Gladwell’s books have attempted to challenge the reader to examine their view on the world and how it operates and one group which has latched on to Gladwell’s musings is the business community although, despite being a former business journalist, this was never the intention.

He said: “When I began writing these books I never considered myself a business writer. I would keep in mind my mother. She is a well educated person who cares and if she likes it then that will do. She’s a pretty reliable guide.

“I think their success is an indication of how complex life has become – we are not generalists any more.

“Blink was quite sobering. We all know we are subject to bias and prejudice but I just didn’t realise to the extent; that was surprising. I had no idea this bias was as deeply rooted as they are.

“The basic thesis of Outliers is not too surprising – what was surprising was not the extent but the dimensions.

“I think the ideas are popular with business people because they increasingly care about the world outside their world. In business you have to have an understanding of psychology and sociology. You have to look beyond dimensions of the business environment. If you are dealing with consumers you have to understand how people behave. That said my books are certainly not to be read in the same way as a business guru’s book.”

Maybe not, but they may well inspire the reader to get working on those 10,000 hours.

* Malcolm Gladwell appears at Birmingham Town Hall on June 25. To book call the Town Hall on 0121 780 3333 or www.malcolmgladwell-live.com. Outliers in paperback is published by Penguin on June 25.