Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Today I had 2.5 hours break in between meetings.  I didn`t want to waste gas so I went to the Barnes & Noble store which was around the corner from my next meeting.  While there I stumbled onto a book called "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference" by Malcom Gladwell. 

Once I started reading it, I had trouble putting it down. I am curious to know if anyone else has read it?  If so, how have you crafted your product/service message so the little things make a big difference?

-------------------------

Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

It is an excellent read indeed. I have not really made any changes to my
existing art and poster business from the lessons I learned from the book
but what I did get was a different way of thinking in terms of my future
businesses. Specifically, the explanations of "stickiness" from the book
made an impression on me. It`s caused me to think of marketing in
different terms, more so than other books specifically about marketing. I
suppose I am trying to implement some of the ideas into my new blog
about comic strips, using the concept of "characters" as its authors.   A
comic strip is the kind of medium that either hits big or dies quickly. In
thinking about what makes a strip become an epidemic (think Far Side),
I`m trying to apply some of those thoughts to the blog itself. Now that
you`ve brought up the book, I might have to sift through its pages again
to refresh my mind. So thanks for the reminder!

I am in the middle of it and think it is an amazing book.  I have found myself not being able to put it down either.  Very well written and I am excited to get through it so I can apply it to my own business.  I`ll have to come back and let you know what I do.

Have a good one!

Warm regards,
When-Dee

www.fatcookie.com


-------------------------

When-Dee Morrison
owner, Fat Cookie

http://www.fatcookie.com

Choose Dough. +Add Stuff. "Name It!"

Here`s a link to a content review-synopsis: The Tipping Point.

I seem to remember a number of years ago some sort of book about viral marketing. It wasn`t called that at the time. It was about crowd psychology taken from an epidemiology perspective. Sounds like this is an update, done in maybe a more interesting way.

We also have the growing awareness of "complex systems," and a new understanding that in most situations involving many factors, there isn`t a single moment where things change.

Remember when we were in high-school chemistry and learning about super saturated solutions? I`m not positive, but I believe that we can`t predict the instant that a solution will crystalize, nor predict the point at which that precipitation begins.

So I wonder....is there really a tipping point? Can there be such a thing? Yes, we can look backward and say this or that was the exact moment when a macro change took place. But can we look *forward* to predict that moment and its location?

Craig, you raise some good points.  Since I have only read the first three chapters of the book I can`t respond directly to your points.What I can share is the book has a strong interdisciplinary approach which blends communications, criminology, sociology and psychology.  In what little I read, I was impressed in how astutely it alluded to group dynamics, social norms and their influence on micro and macro perspectives. 

The one criminology case study reflected a social issue indictive of increased crime rates over a prolonged period of years that were marked by a sudden decline.  This decline occured after the approach changed which reframed a message and spread thru a community.  To summarize it is indictive of communication patterns within an organizational behavior but instead of being within a business or organization, the setting is based on a social issues within a community. Thus little things do make a big difference. 

   

-------------------------

Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

Camp Steve, 

What is your blog address?  If you don`t mind, I would like to read it and see the books influence on your postings.

Fat Cookie,

Thank you for offering to share how your going to apply information from the book!  I look forward to reading your posting.  I also can`t wait to finish reading the entire book.  It is fun to read information which energizes and completely engrosses me! 

-------------------------

Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

A link to the Zingerding Blog can be found through my profile but here it
is for easy clicking.

http://blog.zingerding.com

I am almost done and will indeed post anything I do.  My husband has also read it already and we have in our aresenal right now:

MADE TO STICK by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

THE BIG MOO by Seth Godin

THE ART OF THE START by Guy Kawasaki

small is the new big by Seth Godin

The Made to Stick book is a little repetitive (saying the point they explain a few more times which annoys me a little, but I think they wrote it for folks who were doing their first read-thru on this subject and wanted to emphasize their points...I guess make them "stick"....ha!)

Guy`s book rocks also.  It really helped me in many random ways and I needed it when we were first getting going.  I haven`t looked at the Big Moo yet but it is a book that has excerpts from others so it`s not a narrative and is used to pick up and put down when you need some inspriation, advice, clarification, etc.

You all have a good weekend and take it easy!

When-Dee


-------------------------

When-Dee Morrison
owner, Fat Cookie

http://www.fatcookie.com

Choose Dough. +Add Stuff. "Name It!"

Nicole, thanks for reminding me. The Tipping Point has been on my to-read list for some time. I started reading it on Amazon and my copy will arrive soon. Look forward to discussing it in more detail and putting it into practice.


-------------------------

After reading Tipping Point, I sort of got a little saddened.  If that would be the right word to describe the material on the book about Connectors and Mavens. 

I feel like since I`ve started to be an entrepreneur, I`ve lost my connection with people.  I know some of you can relate to that. In my second year of flying solo-the joke now is who will be at my 35th birthday party? LOL

So one of my goals this year is to make new friends before August of next year and have enough people to invite.  Pathetic, but true.

I`d like to hear more thoughts on this connector and maven theories that Gladwell talked about in his book. Anyone?

LT


-------------------------

http://www.face2facevideocard.com
"videos can say it like it is"
09-21-2007

www.senatinproperties.com
real estate investments