Technology+Leadership+Book+Summary

Blink: The Art of Thinking of Without Thinking was by best selling Author Malcom Gladwell. Gladwell begins with an account designed to illustrate the way our immediate reactions to people, objects, and problems are often the most accurate responses (p.6)

The Theory of Thin Slices: How A Little Bit of Knowledge, discusses the example of the work of a research team assessing interaction patterns and long-term compatibility in married couples. The research team that Gladwell observed would videotape married couples having a discussion about a seemingly innocent subject, such as the idea of acquiring a family pet. Gladwell concludes that this validates the innate human ability to thin-slice our environments.

The Locked Door: The Secret Life of Snap Decisions to illustrate these points, Gladwell describes the outcomes of several recent experiments. The concept that Gladwell terms the "storytelling problem" demonstrates that we often invent totally incorrect accounts of our behaviors and choices. In the Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Men, voters allowed their deep-seated prejudices about the connotations of physical attractiveness make their decision. Paul Van Riper’s Big Victory: Creating Structure for Spontaneity, in this chapter, Gladwell outlines another type of problem that can hamper our ability to make accurate decisions -- too much information.

In the case of Paul Van Riper, Gladwell recounts the untraditional military philosophy of one the country’s most decorated Marine officers. Van Riper’s team took the opposite approach, making snap decisions to take bold chances when the opportunity presented itself. Often, Gladwell contends, the best decisions are made by relying on only a few pieces of high-quality information. This chapter focuses on another part of the decision-making process, the context in which a judgment is made. Gladwell employs a number of examples and case studies, most of which are drawn from the world of marketing and focus groups. Also, Gladwell demonstrates that removing a problem from its normal context makes it very difficult for people to make accurate decisions. Gladwell provides context for the discussion by offering a brief overview of the history of mind reading. According to Gladwell, the kind of adrenaline rush that results from high-speed pursuits can cause the brain to mimic autism, temporarily inhibiting the ability to decode facial expressions.