On the shelves for almost ten years now, this book is still on my list of top business book recommendations. “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell is one of those books that started a wildfire in the world of business psychology, and which continues to burn fiercely to this day.

Business and marketing professionals must read and understand this book. The concept of the tipping point is that of a magical and powerful moment when something suddenly explodes and spreads like an virus, often even to the suprise of whoever created it. It describes the point at which an epidemic tips, through a change in one of three agents Gladwell calls the Law of the Few, Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

Those of you familiar with Godin’s Unleashing the Ideavirus may see a few similarities. I have a feeling that Seth Godin is familiar with Gladwell’s work and probably learned a thing or two from it himself. While by no means a replication of his work, these two books are highly complimentary to one another. Malcolm Gladwell has introduced us to the concept of the tipping point, the factors that contribute to tipping a product or idea, and digs deeply into the psychology and social behavior that lead to such phenomenon.

The Tipping Point is a powerful book for business owners and anybody marketing products in the modern economy. It’s an easy book to read, and it will change your perception of the world and what truly makes a product successful. It’s really something that anybody with a curiosity for human psychology can pick up and enjoy, but those involved with online marketing and business will see how these ideas can accelarate and empower you. It may also come as a shock to see how little control we actually have over the tipping point in some cases – but don’t let this dissuade you from trying!