“Success is a function of persistence and determination and the willingness to work hard to make sense of something others may give up on” (Malcolm Gladwell Outliers). In the book of Outliers, The Stories of Success Malcolm Gladwell presents an idea of what is success and how it can be achieved. The book poses interesting view on how success is granted by opportunity, skills, social responsibility and creativity. The term outliers stand for something that is “1. Situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body, 2. A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample” (Gladwell, p. 6). The books represent an idea that, opportunity comes to those that are looking for it. So, what set …show more content…
These four key concepts explain why effective leaders are considered outliers. Being an effective leader what some people were born being a leader, however, some cultures believe that there are born leaders. I am not here to argue whether or not some people are born leaders or not, but about how some effective leaders became successful at leading. We need to start with their childhood, and what values were instilled into these leaders at an early age. Family values, culture, location, are a huge contributing factor that plays into becoming a successful leader. But the question remains, what is …show more content…
(DuBrin 2016, p.2) DuBrin’s definition on leadership can be interpreted as someone who possesses the traits of emotional intelligence has the ability to be an effective leader because they are emotionally stable and will contribute stability within an organization. For example, in Outliers, Chapter 3 addresses the issues of high IQ scores and whether or not it would justify the success of our leaders. Gladwell discusses the study of Lewis Terman, the man who sought out the most intelligent children hoping that he was tracking tomorrow’s world leader. Not saying that Terman did not find a few of tomorrow’s leader among those extremely intelligent children, but many of them were not tomorrow’s leader also. He came to the understanding that many of the children had a leg up on others in becoming successful throughout there lives, which was due to their economic status. Economic status presented opportunities for children to go out and learn how to socialize and navigate through life successfully compared to their under counter part that did not hold the same economic status as they do. Lets look at Bill Gates another successor who benefitted in becoming successful. What if his parents did not have the money to send him to the Lake Side school that he attended, or the Mother club did not have the funds for the student to be able to
In the second chapter of his book “Outliers: The Story of Success,” Malcolm Gladwell introduces what he believes to be a key ingredient in the recipe for success: practice. The number of hours he says one must practice to obtain expert-level proficiency in a particular skill is ten thousand hours. He goes on to list several examples of successful individuals and makes the correlation between the amount of hours they practiced their skill and when they achieved expert-level proficiency (almost always around ten thousand hours of practice). While the magic number appears to be the main focus of the chapter when it comes to success, Gladwell seems to put more emphasis on the advantage and opportunities each individual experienced. However, I believe the determining factor that distinguished their successful careers was their drive, passion and dedication to put in the hours necessary to turn those unique opportunities into success.
Malcolm Gladwell, in the nonfiction book Outliers, claims that success stems from where you come from, and to find that you must look beyond the individual. Malcolm Gladwell develops and supports his claim by defining an outlier, then providing an example of how Stewart Wolf looked beyond the individual, and finally by giving the purpose of the book Outliers as a whole. Gladwell’s purpose is to explain the extenuating circumstances that allowed one group of people to become outliers in order to inform readers on how to be successful. The author writes in a serious and factual tone for the average person in society of both genders and all ethnicities who wants to become successful in life.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as a self-made man, and that success is only the result of a person’s circumstances. However, throughout the novel Gladwell points out that your circumstances and opportunities only help you become successful if you are willing to take advantage of them and work hard. From a twelve year old living in the Bronx, to those who were born at just the right time to become millionaires, one thing is the same throughout; these people because successful because they seized the opportunities they were given. The advantages and opportunities that came from their circumstances would not be important if they had not grasped them. Every successful man is self made, because he has seized the
Malcolm Gladwell is a canadian-english journalist, speaker, and bestselling author. In his bestselling book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell discusses success and what patterns correlate with it. He states that how much time you put into a certain activity, specifically 10,000 hours, can put you in a elite level of proficiency. This in turn can give someone the tools to allow them the ability to be successful. Using historical citations, patterns, and real life examples, Gladwell forms his 10,000 hour rule. Due to his knowledgeable yet calm tone Gladwell seems to show credibility. His intended audience could be people who enjoy statistics or people who want to be successful and find possible ways to do so. Gladwell uses a logical appeal to show the patterns he has found through his studies of success. He supports his claim with overwhelming statistics which back it. He also uses similes to help better understand how he can relate the patterns he has found for the elite in a certain activity to other things. Foil is probably Gladwell's best means of convincing the reader to his thesis of the 10,000 hour rule. He uses Foil to compare success and we define to legends such as Bill Gates The Beatles and Bill Joy. Overall Gladwell uses Logos, similes, and foils to support his claim of the 10,000 hour rule.
Gladwell gives differing definitions of intelligence. Yet his definition of success is singular—"worldly" success in terms of wealth, power, and fame. Are there also differing definitions of success that Gladwell doesn't consider? If so, what are they, and what does it take to achieve those versions of success? What is your definition of success, and how does it compare to Gladwell’s? Has your definition of success changed at all?
Hardworking. Persistent. Determined. These are all adjectives the United States associates with successful people. Whenever a story is told about someone who has risen through the ranks to become a successful person--an Outlier-- that achievement is usually said to be earned through personal means and a tremendous amount of effort. Gladwell’s book takes this success stereotype and conducts an examination of the way the world views an Outlier. Outliers: the Story of Success is an unusual nonfiction book in that it is not only easy to understand, but also well written and interesting. Gladwell engages and persuades the reader using not only research, but also real-life examples and anecdotes to prove his point. Outliers demonstrates the point
The rich and the famous of history are not exceptional individuals made successful by pure hard work; instead, they are lucky people possessing just the right mix of qualities, for which they are not responsible and without which their success would not be possible. This is the thesis of Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, in which he uses examples from the worlds of sports, music, academics, and business to demonstrate the external factors which created the success of Canadian hockey players, American programmers, European musicians, and Jewish lawyers. His conclusions are astonishing, but may be more strongly stated than the facts warrant. Still, the evidence he cites demonstrates astonishing correlations which demand explanation, even if they are
Malcolm Gladwell makes many debatable claims in his book “The Outliers”. One of these controversial topics is brought up in chapter three when he talks about a person’s IQ and how that relates to one’s success. Gladwell says, “The relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point. Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.”After reading “Outliers” I believe that this is the greatest controversial topic. I agree with Malcolm Gladwell because there are a high amount of people who are not incredibly smart that are very successful, success can be viewed differently by different people, and from my own experiences on the U-High
What would happen if our world today was monotonous, sorrowful, and grey? What if no one was here to form new creations, and think of bold ideas? Would triumph have a definition? Would there be outliers in our world today? We are constantly thinking, always generating new ideas and forming new thoughts. People even proceed by creating inventions, and building objects no one would of thought would be made today. But, what we don’t perceive is how they became successful and how they took advantage of the moment that was given to them. In the novel, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, the author explains that an outlier is one who is given an opportunity and knows how to take advantage. He believes that in order for a person to be successful they need at least ten thousand hours of hard work and effort in order to succeed at a skill. It is clear to me that like Malcolm Gladwell, I believe
The world of today is filled with successful men who have become great leaders in their field of expertise and achieved many extraordinary and remarkable things. People usually wonder what these great men have that they lack and what should they do in order to even achieve similar feats. The answer to such an intriguing and complicated looking question is surprisingly simple! It is to have a heart and the attitude of a great leader. Young men are taught that if they study hard enough and long enough, they might be able to achieve some things in life which, unfortunately, is a wrong notion proved wrong by a remarkably successful man named Bill Gates. He was a college dropout but still managed to be the founder of one of the biggest IT Mammoth – Microsoft. He is just a famous example, but there are thousands other in every corner of the world, making a mark for themselves despite their poor qualifications. Their amazing ability to manage and lead is what really sets them apart. There are sayings that leaders are born, not made, but, if you follow the life of any great leader and ask them, most will give you an answer that they learnt everything they knew through the lessons of life, an open mind & positive self motivation. These points are important if you aspire to become successful and be the guy everyone else looks up to for inspiration. There are various kinds of leadership techniques that can be learnt and imbibed by anyone who is willing to go the distance. Among the many ways of being a leader, the one that seems to be the most promising is a lately evolved concept of authentic leadership.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers is an extremely informative read about success and the different aspects that attribute to it. Gladwell is able to use many studies and sources that back up his theories of how success is achieved. Although he is biased towards his theories, the only real argument that can be made in opposition to his theories would be a debate over exceptions to the 10,000 Hour Rule. Outliers ultimately has a positive effect on the audience by making them more aware of their own chances at success and how if they may be lacking in one area (education, opportunity, creativity) all hope is not lost. Gladwell’s piece is essentially timeless and will be able to be applied to future generations because he used examples from a few different eras that still make sense to today.
Once in a while, it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Gladwell believes that cultural legacies are powerful forces. Cultural legacies are the customs of a family or a group of people, that is inherited through the generations. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Cultural legacies is something that’s been passed down for generations to generations. It depends on what type of legacies was passed that will affect a person. If a good legacy was passed down, someone can keep that legacy going by trying hard at keeping the legacies going. If a bad legacy was passed down; I believe that cultural legacies can be altered or changed, by good working habits, determination, and a positive mindset to succeed. Culture can affect either positively or negatively, but we have the power to turn our cultural
Malcolm Gladwell insists throughout his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, that the recipe for achievement is not simply based on personal talents or innate abilities alone. Gladwell offers the uncommon idea that outliers largely depend upon “extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies” (Gladwell19). According to Gladwell, successful men and women are beneficiaries of relationships, occasions, places, and cultures. The author draws on a different case study in each chapter to support a particular argument concerning success. Despite his indifference and suppression in regards to counterarguments, Gladwell’s claims are effective for many reasons, including through the accounts of experts, tone and style of writing, and the technique he utilizes when opening a chapter.
In Chapter 8 and 9 of Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell exams some of the ways that Asian and American students learn math, arguing that some of the principles in the US education system should be reconsidered. I generally agree with Gladwell’s point of view. I believe in two ways, students ' principal spirit and the length of students’ studying, the US education system leaves much to be desired, though an overhaul is in progress.
Skills are a basic requirement, but traits are essential in leadership. Traits are unique in defining an individual’s character. A combination of strong skills and traits that include emotional intelligence and knowledge of leadership behaviors become critical factors for a leader to lead effectively. It is important for a leader to possess “effective managerial skills at some level” (Kreitner 465). On the other hand, a leader will be equipped to turn a “…vision into actionable items and successful implementation” (465) by possessing traits that are needed to achieve results.