Leadership Bio: Malcolm Gladwell

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Malcolm Gladwell has become well known primarily due to two books that have become hits in management and leadership circles. His initial book The Tipping Point discusses the idea that there is a certain mysterious point where in the midst of working towards a goal the floodgates break open and an idea takes hold, Gladwell discusses several examples of this phenomenon with the encouragement that we never know when the next breakthrough may occur. His second book Blink discusses the positive and negative aspects of relying on gut instinct in decision making. His premise is that oftentimes people get bogged down in the details when our subconscious helps us sort through a variety of information, assess current situations based upon past experiences and in the end make the best decision.

From Gladwell’s Website:

Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine since 1996. His 1999 profile of Ron Popeil won a National Magazine Award, and in 2005 he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. He is the author of two books, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference,” (2000) and “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” (2005), both of which were number one New York Times bestsellers.

From 1987 to 1996, he was a reporter with the Washington Post, where he covered business, science, and then served as the newspaper’s New York City bureau chief. He graduated from the University of Toronto, Trinity College, with a degree in history. He was born in England, grew up in rural Ontario, and now lives in New York City.