Outliers, the story of success (Malcolm Gladwell)

It took 10 hours flying time from Sydney to Seoul, the first leg of my European holiday. I normally read during holidays and this one has begun in fine fashion: Outliers, The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.

Ordinarily I don't read a book in one sitting. This book breaks all the rules. Especially the rules about how one thinks. That's the thrust of the book. Gladwell demonstrates from page one that we are so immersed in our cultural presuppositions that when we hear the great stories of success we hear one truth: people who are successful have individually triumphed over the obstacles other mere mortals fail to negotiate. In other words, we accept as truth without question that the difference between success and failure is up to the individual; his or her choices, drivenness, expertise and intelligence.

Gladwell, basically, rewrites history's biographical stories of success in terms which causes us to respond: ah ha! I didn't know that! He writes about Bill Joy, Bill Gates, Christopher Langan, Robert Oppenheimer, Joe Flom and (unsettling as it might seem because I was flying in one of their planes as I read this book) the horrid history of Korean Airlines (they have since recovered their safety reputation, thank goodness!). Malcolm is saying this: success is always due to the right person being in the right place at the right time. Before you jump all over Malcolm or give up your dream of conquering the world, he is not shoving environmental determinism down our throats. He is not saying that you have no control over success or failure. He is saying that we've gotten the parameters wrong and we need to recalibrate our thinking when it comes to understanding success (and failure).

So what are some of those principles? Read the book! I recommend it. But until you do, here are some of the things I have learned.

1. "Outliers are those who have been given opportunities -- and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them." Nothing surprising here. Except to remember that when we compare ourselves to the great social innovators of life, we are doing ourselves an injustice. We are not all given the same opportunities and no matter how hard you try, you cannot create a place where the playing field is level. A lot of it is by chance. He demonstrates this by showing the prevalence of birthdays to success (no, he's not talking about astrological signs here). It actually gave me a great sense of relief to know that the struggles I face in making my project and story a success is all about the opportunities I have been given. And the "greats" usually have been given opportunites by chance.

2. It's all about community. Being a social entrepreneur and a "community organiser", i took delight to see how Malcolm snatches the definition of success from the culture of the individual to the community context. Wonderful stuff! He asserts that the great and successful entrepreneurs reached their pinnacle of success on the shoulders of the community in which they operate. We think of success in terms of personal drive, individual IQ and and one's innovative powers. He debunks this myth.

3. There's no substitute for hard work. Malcolm really gets under our skin with this one. He proposes the 10,000 hour rule. Successful people have worked hard. Really hard. 10,000 hours hard. Whether they are violin players, sports stars, rock stars or social entrepeneurs, they have given hours and hours of effort to the area of expertise. 10,000 hours of practice, practice practice seems to be the minimum requirement for success. He really bothers us with the Chinese rice paddy culture and the KIPP school in the bronx examples in which we come to understand that people aren't just lazy or driven due to their character. We develop our viewpoint of hard work from our journey. Wow.

These are just three of many principle which Gladwell highlights throughout this story-filled book. But what did I take from this reading? It definitely changed me and my way of thinking. From reading Galdwell, I would want to apply the following principles to what I do in life:

1. See in everyone the potential for success and leadership. I think there are so many people around me that are untapped resources of change and good but don't even realise it. They are trapped culturally as I am trapped in my "small thinking" that if I could help them release themselves from those walls, we will make a difference in this world.

2. I want to become even more disciplined in my life. I am not even sure what that means. Sure, I want to enjoy life. But Gladwell has reminded me that we must waste a lot of our time in trivialities which are not really necessary.

3. I am going to rely even more on the community around me for the success I am after in life. I will look for the opportunities as they arise. I am not going to worry about the opportunities that don't arise (if that's even possible). I want to tell a story that is much like the stories he tells and be satisfied that they may be on a smaller scale.

And have fun doing it all.

Read this book. It will change you too.

Ronaldo

11 July 2009

Seoul, Korea

Outliers. The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

Penguin Books, 2009

Social Entrepreneur on the Radio

I had the privilege to be asked to talk on air about social enterprise and my project, NationsHeart, this past week. There are a number of lessons I learned from this opportunity. Let's see if I can summarise them:

1. Be aware of events in your area onto which you can "hitch a ride".

Social Ventures Australia was having a launch in Canberra and we, NationsHeart Connect, were invited. We would have naturally thought that SVA would be invited to do a radio interview. No. We were. We had written a press release announcing our intention to support the launch and the radio station chose us probably because our story was much more interesting. Lesson: "Hitch a ride" on events happening around you to get your story on air!

2. Don't bend to the media's urgency.

I got a call from the radio station at 6.15am for a phone interview at 7.10am. Fortunately for us, I missed the call and didn't pick up the message until 8am. Thinking I had missed my opportunity, I called the station. The program manager questioned me and realised that the story I told was worth not missing. As a result, I was asked to come to the studio the next morning and do a live, in-studio, interview. I went much better prepared than I would have been had I answered my phone.

3. Don't expect a lot of time but you can help yourself greatly to get more time.

I was promise 5 minutes. I ended up being interviewed for 12 minutes. Why the additional 7 minutes? I tend to think it was the fact that my answers were crisp, clear and illustrated. I had prepared myself in such a way, I anticipated what might be asked me. My answers were not rambling, never-ending responses. On several occasions the brevity of my answers seem to catch the interviewer off guard. It kept him coming back for more, I believe.

4. Know your audience.

My first question to my team in preparation for my radio interview was: who is listening at 7.10am and what do they want to hear. The answer guided my preparation. Since that interview, a number of my acquaintances have told me they heard me and one said: I now understand what you do. I knew my audience.

5. Prepare the interviewer.

When I arrived at the radio station and was met my the program manager, the first thing I did is hand him materials which would give the interviewer a brief overview what I was on about. This material was read by the interviewer (I could see him through the window). When introduced to the interview, 5 minutes before I was live on the air, I gave even more pertinent information which I would want him to know. These two points were made during the interview.

6. Write down what you want to get out of the interview, in dot-points.

I went into the interview with a 5 point wish-list. I covered 3 out of the 5 points in the 12 minutes. So as the interview was doing a wrap on the interview I interrupted to bring one more point to the listeners attention: the actual website address. Without this the listeners would not have been able to go further in investigating us. It proved the most important thing I did. If not for the dot-point wish-list this would not have happened.

7. Feel comfortable in the studio.

I've done radio before. I always used headphones for broadcast. When I entered the studio I asked if I could us them (they sat connected and on the desk). I was told it wasn't necessary because we would not be taking phone calls. I insisted I could benefit from them and put them on. Headphones seem to help me centre my thoughts when I am on radio. I recommend trying them out but most of all do what feel comfortable.

8. Let your people know you're going to be on.

I told everyone I knew that I was going to be on air. It was a great feeling of support as I spoke and knew many were listening who were behind me. One of my supporters who is not the best technical person had to sit in her car to listen. Now that's encouraging.

9. Be ready for the opening question.

I wasnt ready for the interviewer's opening question. What was so surprising? Well he asked me the most difficult question I didn't expect: tell us about what you do? Huh? Why didn't I think I would be asked that question? I don't know but nontheless it caught me off guard. As a result I stumbled a bit at first and immediately the nervous-level went up 100%. Although I refuse to ramble on this surprising question, it took me about 60 seconds to settle back down and handle the interviewer. I guess my suggestion from this lesson is this: ask the interviewer what that first question would be. Oh yes, that would have been much better!

10. Say thank-you.

I have written, texted and twittered thank-yous to the interviewer after the radio broadcast. Afterall, I am thankful for the exposure. I have met people who have learned about us for the first time. I had someone even donate money to us as a result of the interview. Thank yous go a long way. Just do it.

Now tell me what you might have learned doing this...

Ronaldo

5 July 2005

Canberra, Australia

Ron's interview was live on-air interview at 7.10am Tuesday 30 July 2009 on Triple 6 ABC radio in Canberra; interviewer: Ross Solly breakfast show.