Review
Outliers, Quick Thoughts
Finally finished the last few pages of Outliers. Great book. As usual Malcolm Gladwell impresses with his ability to always deliver amazing insights. In the spirit of Outliers though, he does his due diligence and puts what (I think) has to be countless hours of research into each book.
Outliers tries to detail exactly what makes certain people so successful in life. It zeroes in on the traditional hard work and lucky break type stories and finds unseen advantages that successful people get along the way. From Bill Gates to the Beatles to Canadian hockey stars, according to Outliers, there is often some sort of help along the way that usually goes unseen (along with a lot of nose to the grindstone hard work).
Outliers is oddly inspiring for a book that tries to convince you that your ultimate success has a lot to do with the help others may or may not give you along the way. I found myself comparing the outlook of my success with every story along the way, looking for my help, my lucky breaks.
The biggest pieces of advice I took away from all the amazing stories Gladwell provides is a) to put in more work than anyone else so that you are best prepared to take advantage of new opportunities when they arise & b) learn to spot those new opportunities by surrounding yourself with smart, capable people.
I hope to put my notes on Outliers together soon, similar to what I did for Groundswell, stay tuned.
(posted with Wordpress 2.7’s new “QuickPress” feature, testing it out)
Groundswell, Hit and Miss
5 page synopsis of the book, download my summary notes here. 
Groundswell is a how to guide for social media in business. The authors were analysts at Forrester research, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. Forrester reports a lot of the stats out there on social media, so they know the numbers and help big clients on these issues daily – the credibility is there.
My overall impression of Groundswell is very positive. They explore social media solutions for many aspects of business and do it in an easily digestible way. They also include great real world examples to cement the many lessons. Anyone using social media, or planning to, should read this book. I highly recommend it.
I will, however, add a few caveats to my endorsement. I understand that no book can squeeze in all the lessons of social media or please everyone. But here are some things to keep in mind when reading Groundswell:
- Groundswell is written to corporate America more than smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. It suggests some of the most expensive options out there to build social technology solutions and track your brand online. But there are tons of free, open source solutions that are much more realistic for most of the people that will read the book.
- The authors break down social technology users into 6 categories, The Social Technographics Ladder: who creates, who reacts, etc. This is a helpful guide, but a creator in one place is a spectator elsewhere and may not be either for your company. Understand your demographics, but at the same time, do not be afraid to follow your instincts. There are content creators in every demographic, after all. Groundswell is great for helping you generate a plan of action. But, I think one of the keys here is creativity and capturing the imagination and ownership of your audience. Experiment, test and do not be afraid to fail.
- Lastly, Groundswell alludes to this but it deserves more emphasis. Simply get out there a participate in social media. If you want your company to use social technologies to improve your business, you need to be out there experiencing it personally, asking questions, learning lessons, and creating. The experience is nothing without an overall plan, true, but the opposite is just as true. Creating a plan and goals without being involved in social media is also ill advised. This goes for the best and the brightest of everyone in your company.
