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Paperback
296 pages
ISBN 9780316010665 Published April 2007
Back Bay Books
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Blink
The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
By Malcolm Gladwell 

Related Blog Posts
Revisiting Malcolm Gladwell
Posted Dec. 14, 2011 8:09 a.m. by sally-haldorson
In - 800 CEO Read Blog

One of the most fascinating trends to follow in business literature is the continual expansion of what a business book actually is. The parameters have widened significantly from the influential management and theory books of the 1980s. While there are still books made available each year on such practical matters as team building, developing a social media strategy, making a new hire, and sensible budgeting, there are also a great number of books that study decision-making from a neuroscience angle or theorize about how social and environmental influences affect human behavior. Malcolm Gladwell is a pioneer of this type of book.

In The 100 Best Business Books of All Time review of The Tipping Point, Jack writes:

The Tipping Point is the type of book that helps us make sense of the world around us. It is a practical, nonacademic guide to the social epidemics going on around us, and perhaps to how we might take advantage of them. As people try to stay in step with a rapidly evolving business landscape, they are turning to journalistic books that bring the big picture into focus, like Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat, Gladwell's next book, Blink, and Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics. Not only is the context broader, but the writing is significantly better than in traditional business books. The Tipping Point is the book that started this trend, perhaps its own epidemic, and continues to carry the banner as the best.

And "the best" it nearly is. In our compilation of six years of data* from Nielsen BookScan of the 10 top selling business books, The Tipping Point comes in second (behind the aforementioned Friedman title.) Gladwell's Blink? Well, it is 3rd on the list. It may only be a matter of time before Gladwell's 2008 book, Outliers, makes the list.

If it has been awhile since you've revisited Gladwell's writing, or you'd like to introduce someone to it, now all three of Gladwell's outstanding books are available in a new boxed set from Hachette, just in time to be the perfect gift for the business thinker in your life.

*1/4/04-11/14/10



Doing Both and the Importance of Getting Your Feet Wet
Posted Aug. 26, 2010 9:38 a.m. by dylan
In - 800 CEO Read Blog

Inder Sidhu's Doing Both was number one on the Inc./800-CEO-READ Business Book Bestseller List in July.

Jon recently sent him three questions he asks of all our best-selling authors, and I really enjoyed his answers:

What's the most influential book you've read?

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, which eloquently explains what drives extraordinary human achievement.

Who in business had the most profound effect on you?

My previous bosses, Gary Daichendt and Rick Justice, who represented unquestionable integrity, humble competence, respect for people, love for family, strength of faith, and a sense of humor.

If your business philosophy were on a bumper sticker, what would it say?

“Do what makes your heart sing.”

Sidhu is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning for Worldwide Operations at Cisco, and his book is largely about the company he has worked in for the past 15 years, and how Cisco has been able to sustain its core business over that time while also branching out into new ones. In other words, it is how the company has addressed the issues that Clayton Christensen describes in The Innovator's Dilemma in a real-world, hyper-competitive business environment.

Each chapter focuses on a separate arena of business management and how, in each instance, Cisco has managed to take an approach that addresses those issues holistically. (Sidhu does use other businesses to illustrate his points, but always comes back home to Cisco.) The easiest way to relate to you what's covered in the book is to simply list the chapter titles in order:

  • New & Improved and The Next Big Thing: Sustaining and Disrupting Innovation

  • Current Accounts and Future Conquests: Existing and New Business Models

  • Tuning and Transforming: Optimization and Reinvention

  • Satisfied Customers and Gratified Partners: Direct Touch and Leveraged Influence

  • The Beaten Path and The Road Less Traveled: Established and Emerging Markets

  • Doing Things Right and Doing What Matters: Excellence and Relevence

  • Michael Phelps and the Redeem Team: Superstar Performers and Winning Teams

  • West Point and Woodstock: Authoritative Leadership and Democratic Decision Making

As you can see, Mr. Sidhu covers quite a lot of ground. But there is one important issue he did not address in his book: work/life balance. He remedied that last week on The Huffington Post by asking a question you probably haven't been asked since you were in grade school, "What Did You Do on Your Summer Vacation?" writing:

Did you take some time off this summer? If not, then I have five words of advice for you: Go jump in a lake.

In the post, Sidhu reminds you that "you have two lives to live: one at home, and one at the office. Though they may blend from time to time, they still have separate and distinct needs." And, in all things holistic, Sidhu counsels doing both:

I'm not talking about trying to de-emphasize your professional responsibilities in favor of personal fun, but instead pursuing both, for the benefit of each other. Think about that in the final remaining weeks before Labor Day, while the weather is still warm enough to splash around at the end of a dock.

So... have you taken your vacation this summer? If you're feeling work getting the better of you instead of the other way around, your professional life may just depend on it. And you can always take Doing Both with you.



Crowdsourced Entrepreneurial Reads
Posted Sept. 14, 2009 9:17 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog

A few weeks ago, Fred Wilson from avc.com kicked up interest in books that entreprenuers should read. Fred, in particular, made the point that "there is way more insight to be gained from stories than from business books." He suggested Kavalier and Clay, Atlas Shrugged, The Prince, and anything by Shakespeare.

At the end of his post, he asked for more suggestions. The post generated 191 comments and prompted the creation of a wiki.

I pulled all the books from the wiki over into this post and linked to the books. The [FW] tag denotes that it was endorsed by Mr. Wilson himself directly or in the comments of the original post.



Channel Insider's 21 to Read
Posted May 27, 2009 4:49 a.m. by dylan
In 100 Best - 800 CEO Read Blog

Channel Insider recently posted a slide show of 21 Must Read Books for Business Success. It was compiled by asking "successful solution providers what books have both inspired them and shaped their approach to making their businesses a success." You can get detailed descriptions of the books by viewing the slide show, but the list itself, with links, below. If you're interested in knowing which books are also in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, they are starred.



Take 'em to the beach.
Posted June 19, 2007 4:25 a.m. by kate
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog

If you're looking for a paperback to peruse on the beach, BusinessWeek suggests:

This came from this BusinessWeek article.