Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

The Beatles are far and away the greatest rock band to ever live. This is accepted as fact. If the success of every rock band that’s ever existed were lumped chart, the Beatles would throw off the curve.

The story of their success begins with humble origins in Liverpool, England. There were broken homes and middle-class upbringings. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison found each other, formed a band, and were later joined by Ringo Starr. Their strange combination of personalities and gifts fused into an unstoppable juggernaut, rising them to the tops of the charts. For ten years, they created some of the greatest music that’s ever existed.

But there’s far more to it than that.

In researching the secret of success, Malcolm Gladwell sought to find the truth behind how the Beatles became the Beatles, how Bill Gates became the richest man in the world, and why a disproportionate amount of Canada’s junior hockey players are born in January, February and March.

According to Gladwell, attaining success is based on a myriad of factors.

To be successful, a person must be born at the right time, have the right upbringing, be part of the right culture and community. Success also depends on a series of coincidences which open up opportunities which then provide more time to practice a trade.

There is only one factor, Gladwell claims, which the individual controls: how hard they practice.

So the concept of American individualism is false. Are we really that surprised?

Gladwell, in essence, illustrates the old maxim “the right place at the right time”.

Fortunately, he does so in the most entertaining way possible. Chapter after chapter, Gladwell presents the fascinating tales of outliers and statistical anomalies. It’s not difficult to see why Malcolm Gladwell is himself an outlier…his ability to weave true stories over a broader theme made The Tipping Point and Blink New York Times bestsellers.

But even those books lagged at times, points where it felt like Gladwell was just making the same point over and over again. With Outliers, Gladwell shows the growth of a writer. Not only is his subject fascinating, he coaxes his allegories to life with a deft hand and finding extraordinary illustrations for each factor of success. Even if you’re an elder in the Church of Ayn Rand, the stories will keep you hooked.

There’s only one element missing.

Outliers is about a very narrow definition of success, one separate from morality or kindness. The question arises most often during Gladwell’s analysis of child-raising, particularly in the question of concerted cultivation versus natural growth. Concerted cultivation, Gladwell claims, instills a sense of entitlement, which he argues is not a bad thing. Concerted cultivation is more likely to develop a child’s ability to negotiate and deal with adults, while natural growth children will be more submissive and less-likely to challenge their elders. The children raised with a sense of entitlement, then, are more likely to succeed as adults, because they are more likely to stand up for themselves.

That’s all well and good, but there’s a reason a healthy sense of entitlement is looked down upon in our culture. Gladwell admits children raised by natural growth methods are “better behaved, less whiny, more creative in making use of their time and had a better sense of independence”. But, you know, they aren’t becoming CEOs or anything.

One of the primary focuses of Outliers is to dismiss our culture’s dependence on natural skill, and Gladwell brings up excellent refuting our status quo of programs directed at the talented and gifted. IQ does not equal success. But, at the same time, should we throw out natural ability altogether? After all, a basketball prospect can’t work or luck his way into growing from 5’8” to 6’6”. Why should intellectual or artistic pursuits be any different?