Business, Karriere & Geld

Inhaltsangabe zu "Keys to Success"

Inhaltsangabe zu "The Tipping Point"

"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviours spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of mimetics will recognise this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.

For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanise the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston", he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.

Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point", like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan

Inhaltsangabe zu "Think Like a Freak"

From the rule-breaking authors of international bestsellers Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, this is the ultimate guide to how to Think Like a Freak

The Freakonomics books have come to stand for something: challenging conventional wisdom; using data rather than emotion to answer questions; and learning to unravel the world's secret codes. Now Levitt and Dubner have gathered up what they have learned and turned it into a readable and practical toolkit for thinking differently - thinking, that is, like a Freak. Whether you are interested in the best way to improve your odds in penalty kicks, or in major global reforms, here is a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems.

Along the way, you'll learn how the techniques of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion can help you, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria, and why Van Halen's demanding tour contract banning brown M&Ms was really a safety measure. You'll learn why sometimes it's best to put away your moral compass, and smarter to think like a child. You will be given a master class in incentives-because for better or worse, incentives rule our world. And you will learn to quit before you fail, because you can't solve tomorrow's problem if you aren't willing to abandon today's dud.

Levitt and Dubner see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing-and so much fun to read.

Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark medal, given to the most influential American economist under the age of forty. He is also a founder of The Greatest Good, which applies Freakonomics-style thinking to business and philanthropy.

Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author, journalist, and radio and TV personality. He quit his first career-as an almost-rock-star-to become a writer. He has worked for The New York Times and published three non-Freakonomics books. He lives with his family in New York City.

Inhaltsangabe zu "The Power of Habit"

The Power of Habit Takes you to the edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. This book brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation. It shows, by harnessing this science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives. Full description

Inhaltsangabe zu "What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures"

In What the Dog Saw Malcolm Gladwell covers everything from criminology to spaghetti sauce to show how the most ordinary subjects can illuminate the most extraordinary things about ourselves and our world.

Looking under the surface of the seemingly mundane, he explores the underdogs, the overlooked, the curious, the miraculous and the disastrous, and reveals how everyone and everything contains an incredible story. What the Dog Saw is Gladwell at his very best - asking questions and finding surprising answers.

'A global phenomenon... there is, it seems, no subject over which he cannot scatter some magic dust'
  Observer

'Gladwell makes the world seem fresh and exciting again'
  Evening Standard

'Comes exuberantly close to ... what goes on inside other people's heads'
  Daily Telegraph

'A dizzying array ... his writing talks to all of us'
  Guardian

'Consistently absorbing ... captivating'
  Independent

'Gladwell's storytelling qualities and his eye for the human drama ... make this so compelling'
  Sunday Times

Author, journalist, cultural commentator and intellectual adventurer, Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine. His first book The Tipping Point captured the world's attention with its theory that a curiously small change can have unforeseen effects. His other international bestselling books are Outliers, which looks at the stories of exceptional individuals and reveals the secrets of their success, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and What The Dog Saw, a collection of his most provocative and entertaining New Yorker pieces.

Inhaltsangabe zu "Outliers: The Story of Success"

Inhaltsangabe zu "Thinking, Fast and Slow"

Inhaltsangabe zu "Freakonomics"

Inhaltsangabe zu "Made to Stick"

What is that makes urban myths so persistent but many everyday truths so eminently forgettable? How do newspapers set about ensuring that their headlines make you want to read on? And why do we remember complicated stories but not complicated facts?

In the course of over ten years of study, Chip and Dan Heath have established what it is that determines whether particular ideas or stories stick in our minds or not, and Made to Stick is the fascinating outcome of their painstaking research. Packed full of case histories and thought-provoking anecdotes, it shows, among other things, how one Australian scientist convinced the world he'd discovered the cause of stomach ulcers by drinking a glass filled with bacteria, how a gifted sports reporter got people to watch a football match by showing them the outside of the stadium, and how high-concept pitches such as 'Jaws on a spaceship' (Alien) and 'Die Hard on a bus' (Speed) convince movie executives to invest vast sums of money in a project on the basis of almost no information.

Entertaining and informative by turns, this is a fascinating and multi-faceted account of a key area of human behaviour. At the same time, by showing how we can all use such cleverly devised strategies as the 'Velcro Theory of Memory' and 'curiosity gaps', it offers superbly practical insights, setting out principles we all can adopt to make sure that we get our ideas across effectively.

Inhaltsangabe zu "Steve Jobs"