

Malcolm Gladwell's 5 Steps to Success - KrisZolar
http://dealflow.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/billionaire-lessons-from-malcolm-gladwell.html

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trickjarrett
For those who don't click through, here are the 5 steps:

1\. Find meaning and inspiration in your work.

2\. Work hard.

3\. Discover the relationship between effort and reward.

4\. Seek out complex work to avoid boredom and repetition.

5\. Be autonomous and control your own destiny as much as possible.

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kwamenum86
first, let me say i am a malcolm gladwell fan...but that advice seems nebulous
at best. maybe i just need to read the book.

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staunch
_> 3\. Discover the relationship between effort and reward._

I think that's by far the biggest stumbling block. Once there is a direct
relationship between effort and reward most people behave appropriately and
put forth a lot of effort. It also smooths over a lot of the lesser issues.
Doing very boring things can be very exciting when doing it well results in
big increases in reward. It becomes a high stakes game.

~~~
rapind
Agreed,

IMO this is the only point that matters. Rich or not, we only value rewards
that take effort. If your fairy grandmother showed up, waived her wand, and
you suddenly had a couple billion, you wouldn't value it. If you work your a
__off to make a couple hundred K though, or to learn a new language, or learn
to surf, etc. you will feel a great sense of accomplishment far more valuable
than the coin.

~~~
nazgulnarsil
it's pretty rare in our society, but believe it or not some people do
appreciate what they have even when it is given to them.

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mattmaroon
Let me guess without reading, based on what I know of Gladwell:

1\. Learn to write pretty well.

2\. Come up with a hypothesis.

3\. Collect data.

4\. Throw out all data that disagrees with your hypothesis, even if it is the
overwhelming majority.

5\. Write book/article about the data you kept.

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alaskamiller
1\. coin catchy phrase

2\. write book

3\. create a demand for books based on pseudo-intellectualism

4\. make sure it appears in every airport gift shop

5\. ...

6\. profit!

i kid, i kid, i own and read all his books.

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maryrosecook
Gladwell is successful because he relays a great anecdote. Anecdotes lend
themselves well to re-telling, thus his books are popularised by word of
mouth. "Man, I read this great piece by this guy called Gladwell about a
policeman who could ready body language so well he held fire when facing off a
kid with a gun."

~~~
yters
And isn't that precisely the scenario outlined in Tipping point? That's pretty
cool - a book that proves its own point. It also reminds me of people who get
rich selling self help books.

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mkn
It's worth pointing out where Gladwell is wrong about overnight successes and
why.

While it's true that in a field where continued effort is required for
continued success (like acting, to continue the theme of his 'American Idol'
remarks), software (web software in particular) can be a different kind of
beast. For sites that derive value from the network effect, your work can
taper off once the network size reaches a certain point. (Witness Markus Frind
of PlentyOfFish.com.)

Furthermore, while times are tight now, the 'get bought' method of internet
riches, where/when available, has to qualify as an 'overnight' success.*

*Not to say that this is the most likely or desirable case, just that it qualifies as a counterexample.

~~~
skmurphy
If you define success as making a lot of money quickly you should go into
sales and cut out the middleman.

You can buy one lottery ticket and make a lot of money. You can buy many
lottery tickets every day of your life and never cover the cost of your
lottery tickets.

Most of the time the opportunity for "overnight success" is sold by folks who
are interested in making a profit on your dreams without actually fulfilling
them.

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Alex3917
"Seek out complex work to avoid boredom and repetition."

Kind of ironic coming from the guy who invented formulaic non-fiction.

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jderick
For some reason the most important ingredient for success always seems to get
left out in these lists: Luck

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time_management
Whether overnight success exists depends on the definition of "success".
Becoming skilled can't happen overnight, but recognition does and, since most
people are not independently wealthy and have to work, recognition sadly
matters a lot more than skill, practically speaking.

Growth in one's skill level is gradual and relatively steady, but the
selection process for the "stars" is full of dumb luck, black swan events,
ridiculous inefficiencies and, often, catastrophic failures (e.g. Mark
Zuckerberg, the guy who stole the right idea from the right people in the
right place at the right time).

The relationship between skill and recognition is complex. Most writers and
artists who become "established" devolve into mediocre hacks, because the
cocktail parties take over the time they'd otherwise be using to improve their
skill. On the other hand, what happens to the vast majority is that the utter
lack of recognition, despite their talent, discourages them and they move on
to other things. In truth, the "star" system that has infected most aspects of
American life-- business, art, academia-- is one of the worst influences on
quality imaginable, and much of why the product of humanities academia is
utter jenkem. The 2007-08 financial clusterfuck is a result of many
individuals' efforts to become "star" traders. Bankers are not stupid people
who just happened to be broadsided by a black swan; they deliberately took
extreme risks (often hidden behind models known since the '80s to be flawed or
incomplete) with others' money, knowing that they'd become stars on the
upside.

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yters
Right, b/c to become a star you need recognition from the masses. Thus, you
must conform to the criteria the masses have for success in your field. Who's
most likely to have the worst idea of what entails success in your field? The
masses.

