An “outlier” is defined as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body, or “a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample,” in simple terms, an outlier is something or someone that is extraordinary, or outside of what is considered the norm. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the factors that determine the success or failure of highly intelligent and motivated individuals. Why are Bill Gates and the Beatles rich and famous, yet others of similar intelligence and ambition do not reach the same high levels of success? Mr. Gladwell examines how family, culture, friendships and the time in history successful individuals were born all contribute to high achievement and accomplishment.
Mr. Gladwell argues that Bill Gates was born at the right time, into the right family, and had exceptional opportunities in his youth to develop the skills necessary to co-found Microsoft and guide the company to becoming the leader in the software world. Gates’ parents were both successful; his father was a successful attorney and his mother came from a wealthy family. Bill Gates was a precocious child, not challenged enough in public schools. When he was in the seventh grade, his parents enrolled him at Lakeside, an exclusive private school in Seattle. During his second year at Lakeside, the school started a computer club. The Lakeside Mother’s Club held fund raisers every year for school projects. In 1968, the club provided funds to install a time-sharing computer terminal at the school with a direct link to a mainframe computer in Seattle. Computer time was expensive and the club money ran out quickly. As luck would have it, one of the Lakeside parents started a computer software company and offered to allow students to test software in exchange for free programming time. Eventually the company went bankrupt, so Gates and the other computer geeks at Lakeside began hanging out at the University of Washington’s Computer Center. Eventually, they discovered Information Sciences Inc., which allowed them programming time in exchange for working on software programs. Bill Gates had the remarkable opportunity to learn programming in his youth during the late 60s and early 70s. How many other individuals in the entire world had the same opportunities?
In addition to family, timing and connections, throughout the book, Mr. Gladwell refers to the “Rule of 10,000,” based on a study by Andres Ericsson, that showed evidence that true greatness requires a minimum of 10,000 hours of practicing or performing a specific task. Gladwell claims that true success, fame and greatness requires that individual devote enormous amounts of time practicing and perfecting skills. Gladwell refers to many successful individuals, including famous violinists, Olympic medalists, scientists, musicians and others who are “outliers” in their field due to spending huge amounts of time perfecting their skills.
In Outliers, Mr. Gladwell writes that "success is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky." Did this book change your way of defining "success?"
Discussion Questions
1. Mr. Gladwell feels that our current understanding of success is “really crude” and that we need to come up with a better understanding of what defines success and how successful individuals become "outliers." Do you agree with the explanations he offers in this book?
2. What is Mr. Gladwell’s explanation for the success Asians have in mathematics? Do you feel that school systems in this country could learn from the Asian cultures and adopt some of the ideas presented to improve student achievement in mathematics?
3. Do you have any personal experiences that prove or disprove some of Mr. Gladwell’s theories for what makes individuals successful?
4. Gladwell feels that there is no such thing as a “self-made” individual. Do you agree? Do you know any individuals that are truly “self-made?” What made them successful?
5. Did you have any “aha!” moments as you read this book? How could you use what you learned in either leading your staff to success, or for self-improvement?
