In the June 1 post, I incorrectly referenced “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Galdwell as the source of the story about crashes of the Korean (1997) and Avianca (1990) airlines. Both planes crashed, in part, due to the high Power Distance Index (DPI) on the Hofstede’s Dimensions of the crews flying the airplanes. In both cases, first officers failed to properly communicate their concerns about flying conditions either to the pilot or the control tower due to their hesitation or inability to challenge the authority – the pilot (in the case of the Korean Airlines) and the control tower (in the case of Avianca). The correct book where these two stories are described is called “Outliers,” by the same author.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author, is a Sociology professor, who is known for using real life examples to explain sociology concepts. I first heard about him at work. Fascinated, I wanted to learn more. Due to the mix up with referencing the Korean and Avianca stories, I ended up reading two of his books – “The Tipping point” and “Outliers”. Both books are interesting for different reasons. “Outliers” talks about how certain circumstances, beyond a person’s control, play a role in person’s success. “The Tipping Point” talks about what it takes to start an epidemic. To Gladwell an epidemic is more than just a sickness. He uses the same concept to describe the formation of fashion trends, crime waves, or turning a book into a bestseller. I find both of books fascinating and applicable to our International Business class. Here is how.

Gladwell divided “Outliers” into two parts – one called “Opportunity” and the other one “Legacy.” “Opportunity” provides a 1000 foot view of how external circumstances impact an individual, for example, how the year/month a person was born in, the school he/she attended, or the community he/she grew up in influence their success. For example, Gladwell analyzes birth dates of hockey players to show that boys born at the beginning of the year have an advantage of becoming professional players due to their relative age when they try out for hockey teams as kids. They tend to be bigger than other children and therefore are picked up for hockey teams, where they get the necessary experience to later succeed in professional leagues.  “Legacy,” on the other hand, zooms out and provides a 10,000 foot view, showing how culture affects people. For example, he uses an example of Scottish, Irish, and English immigrants to show how a “culture of honor” is influenced by harsh living conditions of where the family comes from and the need to maintain reputation to prevent others from stealing their animals.  Gladwell provides examples of how culture remains impactful over the course of generations, even when families move to a different country. “Legacy” is where Gladwell describes the Korean and Avianca stories. Gladwell explains that faced with tired pilots, the co-pilots in both crashes failed to effectively speak up in emergency situations because they were from countries with high “Power Distance Index” (PDI) on the Hofstede’s Dimension. He also explains that this cultural influence can be overcome with proper motivation and training. This is a lesson for us as future managers. We need to be vigilant and aware of the externalities, including culture, that impact how people behave. We can expect these influences to be pronounced when doing business outside of the United States. However, similar principles will apply in the United States, too, when we hire or work with individuals from other countries. We can expect them to bring their own cultures and perspectives with them. We should always strive to understand what they are to effectively mitigate weaknesses and take advantage of their strengths. I feel our class gave us the tools, i.e., explaining the Hofstede’s Dimensions. We now need to be vigilant and apply them to effectively work with people in and outside of the United States.

I found “The Tipping Point” fascinating for quite other reasons. While “Outliers” focuses on how external circumstance influence a person, “The Tipping Point” speaks to what influences masses – what makes groups of people act.  As future managers thinking about expanding business globally, we need to be aware of both: what makes our employees “tick” but also what makes the factories, countries, nation act the way they do. Gladwell, describes the key factors in influencing groups as “the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.” He uses examples (often based in New York) to explain how special people called “Communicators”, “Mavens” (knowledge collectors), and “Salesmen” can influence people and spur an “epidemic.” For example, Paul Revere, who Gladwell describes as a perfect “Maven” and “Communicator”, is credited with alerting people of Boston that the British army moving into the area, effectively starting the Revolutionary War. Furthermore, Gladwell uses examples of Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues to explain how relatively small adjustments can make a huge impact in perception and make the message “stick”. Finally, he talks about the power of context, which is similar to the concepts he described in “Outliers.” For example, he describes the “Fundamental Attribution Error”, where we often “attribute” certain behaviors to people’s personalities versus the circumstances surrounding a particular act. Gladwell explains that any of the factors or more often a combination of all three can contribute to “an epidemic.” I find this theory fascinating in context of the most recent Brexit. What happened there? The British decision to exit the European Union was prompted by the change in the circumstance (the context). Clearly, an immigration as was a big factor. While Gladwell’s theory explains why it happened, it also explains how it could have been prevented. Could have the proponents of staying in the Union tweaked the messaging to be more relevant and “sticky”? Could they have found a better spokesperson for the movement? And from the context perspective, could they have done a better job engaging the government? As we learned from the presentation by Christopher Caine, governments can be powerful allies. Could have the British government done a better job integrating the immigrants into to the society, deflating skeptics, who complain about the lack of integration. Based on Gladwell, it was possible. In other words, Brexit was a missed opportunity. As managers expanding internationally, we always need to be mindful of the “context.” When we think about it, culture, economy, political systems – these all context creators. As we learned in class, we can mitigate or take advantage of the context, but we need to understand it first. We learned in class how to use different indicators to understand the context. “The Tipping Point” by Gladwell helped me better appreciate how to take advantage of it.