Stating the obvious, but oh so cleverly (Sun 23rd Nov 2008) - In investigating what sets geniuses apart, is Malcolm Gladwell also asking what makes him so special, wonders Jason Cowley

The man who can’t stop thinking (Sun Nov 16th 2008) - Malcolm Gladwell is a global phenomenon, one of the most brilliant and influential writers of his generation. His bestselling books, including The Tipping Point and Blink, explore and capture social trends and behaviour in ways that define the age. On the eve of his new book about the nature of success he discusses racial politics, obsessiveness, girlfriends - and his own fear of failure.

Why Asian children are better at maths (Sun Nov 16th 2008) - Extract from Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, ‘Outliers’

A gift or hard graft? - (sat Nov 15th 2008) - [Extract from Malcolm Gladwell's new book, 'Outliers' ] We look at outrageously talented and successful people - the Beatles, Mozart, Rockefeller, Bill Gates - and assume there is such a thing as pure genius. Not necessarily, argues Malcolm Gladwell…

Outliers: The Story of Success - Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com .

An introduction to the book and some of its ideas at Malcolm Gladwell’s website.

She finds herself surrounded by too much stuff acquired. She is increasingly skeptical in the face of a financial meltdown that it was all worth the effort. Out will go luxury purchases, conspicuous consumption, and a trophy culture.

Tomorrow’s consumer will buy more ephemeral, less cluttering stuff: fleeting, but expensive, experiences, not heavy goods for the home.

…The Simplifiers have four characteristics:

• First, they perceive that they have more
  stuff than they need. Sure, they may collect something specific like
  porcelain figurines as a hobby, but they are the opposite of the pack
  rats who fill their attics and basements with
  “you-never-know-when-you-might-need-it” stuff.
• Second,
  they want to collect experiences, not possessions. And they give
  experiences rather than goods as gifts to friends and relatives.
  Experiences may seem ephemeral. They cannot be inventoried except in
  the form of “Kodak” moments; but they do not tie you down, require no
  maintenance, and permit variety-seeking instincts to be quickly
  satisfied. Dining out, foreign travel, and learning a new sport will
  prove more resilient than expected in the face of recession.
• Third,
  their stuff embarrasses them. Their Range Rovers no longer tell the
  world that they are sophisticated town and country socialites. There
  are simply too many of them on the road to offer much social status.
  Worse, they now signal the irresponsible selection of a gas-guzzler.
• Fourth,
  they have wealth that is so assured that it no longer requires
  conspicuous display. They lease their cars, rent other people’s holiday
  homes, and would happily outsource other aspects of their lifestyles.
  They reject the marketer’s continual pressure to spend more money on
  possessions rather than on education, health care, and other social
  goods.

Read the rest of it here.

This is an example of market seams that companies need to find and exploit if they are to survive a serious recession.

It is worth keeping an eye on people following trends and microtrends (see also The Times Microtrends section).

A fairly well done pact.

“Bullfighter is the epoch-defining software that works with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to help you find and eliminate jargon in your documents. It may look like a little toolbar with three buttons, but it’s actually much more. Bullfighter includes a jargon database and an exclusive Bull Composite Index calculator that will allow you to see — in an actual window, on your PC display, live — just how bad a document can be.”

Running your documents through it can be quite revealing. You may never open the kimono on low hanging fruit again.

I started to write about the keys of success for entrepreneurs and startups, but as I wrote I realized that while I’ve seen companies fail, projects flounder and ideas die, I’ve had little first-hand experience with success. My ideas on the keys to success remain just that: ideas.

But I’ve learned a lot through failure. Close observation and unfortunate first-hand personal experiences have taught me many lessons about why companies fail.

Let’s be clear: this is intended to be an assessment of the 25 most important lessons I have learned through failure, not a comprehensive analysis of all the reasons entrepreneurs and startups fail (and trust me, this is the shortened version: I’ve learned more than 25).

The first sixteen primarily address strategic and operational issues while the last nine deal more with management and organizational issues. Since I believe the three most important factors for any company are people, product and market, I’m not sure that I’ve come up with the “appropriate” ratio of ways to fail, but perhaps you’ll have ideas that will bring the ratio more in line. I’m looking forward to hearing about the secrets you’ve learned through failure.

Here are a few of my faves…

1. Dither, dither, dither; plan, plan, plan.
Instead: Fail fast. Fire, aim, repeat.6. Focus on the long-term.
Instead: Focus on the short-term.

7. Build prototypes, mockups and samples.
Instead: Start building in a format and medium as close to the finished product as possible, and iterate, iterate, iterate.

9. Give customers everything they want.
Instead: Listen to customers, then throw (almost) all of it away.

10. “New, New, New!”
Instead: F*** new. What’s different? What’s better?

15. “We can build a successful business by capturing just X% of the market.”
Instead: Sell to one customer. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

22. Meet to discuss.
Instead: Meet to decide.

Read on here.