Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Summary

Outliers is quite an interesting read as it presents a series of commonalities that occur with individuals we normally refer to as highly successful or in this case, “outliers”. Whether these individuals are famous businessmen, athletes, etc…Gladwell looks at the remarkable set of similarities that occur in the lives of such individuals when compared to other outliers in the respective categories. He then tries to break down the concept of ‘success’ by illustrating a series of stories and examples, each pointing to the conclusion that ‘success’ follows a recipe. A recipe that is more than just talent.

My key Takeaways

Success has more to do with the time you are in and the economical situations that surround the time - the opportunities you have, in addition to talent, and luck.

I would recommend this book to

• Anyone who wants to be “successful” to perhaps challenge their definition of success and how much control we have over it

• If you like Malcolm Gladwell’s works

• You like to read case studies - this book does a great job of giving concrete examples to illustrate Gladwell’s points however it might make it look as though things are crisp and clear when in fact they are much more complex