Not All Readers Are Leaders, But All Leaders Are Readers.
Harry S Truman (33rd US President)
I was always fascinated by books. While one wouldn’t tag me as a bibliophile, I was undeniably smitten by the words of wisdom shared by authors from around the globe. It was wisdom waiting to be unearthed and learned. As I commenced my professional journey and life started getting busier, I managed to ensure that I dedicate a few hours a week for reading books. Recently, I read two classic books that have been on my To-Be-Read (TBR) list for a long time. These were The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by the Italian Economist Carlo Cipolla and The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell.
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
Carlo Cipolla
The story behind this book was intriguing, to say the least. As per reports, Cipolla had released the first edition of this book in 1976 as a light-hearted commentary on some serious topics. As an economist, Cipolla had an interesting view about people that he shared in this short essay. He analyzed human behavior by studying the interaction between two individuals while performing an economic transaction that involves gains and losses. In his book, Cipolla has provided a simple framework to gauge someone’s true intelligence.
What’s interesting about this book is that while the laws of stupidity are not backed by thousands of pages of psychological research, you can get a quick explanation about why some seemingly intelligent people make bad decisions, and those who don’t seem so bright offer pearls of wisdom in crises. He broadly classifies humans into four categories:
- Intelligent People – who make decisions that are beneficial to themselves and others
- Bandits – who are opportunists that pursue their self-interests even if they harm others in the process
- Helpless People – who make decisions for the benefit of others even if they don’t receive anything in the bargain
- Stupid People – who make decisions that are counterproductive to themselves and others
If you are a business leader or manage people as a part of your job, then this book can help you identify the type of people you are leading and make decisions to optimize the performance of your team and the organization. In fact, I would recommend everyone to read this book as it can help manage interpersonal relationships effectively.
The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Malcolm Gladwell
The next book I read was The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. This was the debut book of the author that offered a groundbreaking analysis of how trends are initiated in the world. The Tipping Point is the moment when a specific trend ‘tips’ into widespread popularity. Gladwell spent a lot of time and effort analyzing various industries and fields to identify three key factors that determine the future of a trend. These factors are:
- The Law of a Few – where he theorizes that a widespread trend can be achieved if certain key people champion the idea or product or concept.
- The Stickiness Factor – this is any unique quality of the product or concept that makes it stick in the minds of people.
- The Power of Context – for a trend to gain widespread popularity, the environment needs to be right.
While there is a lot to be learned from this book, one factor that caught my attention was the Law of Broken Windows. This Law states that if there are visible signs of crime and civil disorder in a society, then it can encourage further crime. Gladwell uses this theory to reaffirm the importance of small things in helping a trend reach the tipping point.
This book can open your mind to breaking down a complex problem into smaller issues that are contributing to the problem and resolving them. It can also help you usher in change by creating a small trend and turning it into an organization-wide culture. Further, sales and marketing professionals can use the techniques mentioned in the book for popularizing a product or concept.
Summing Up
We are fortunate to be born in the twenty-first century where we have easy access to thousands of books and research work of thought leaders across centuries. I always urge people to read and open their minds to possibilities and concepts that they didn’t know existed. These two books get my strong recommendation especially for people in managerial roles. As Mark Twain said, ‘A man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.’
