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An Executive Summary of

OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS

by  Malcolm  Gladwell

Who  is  Malcolm  Gladwell  

Malcolm  Gladwell  is  most  known  for  his  books,  “The  Tipping  Point:  How  little  things  can  make  a  big  difference”,  “Blink:  
The   power   of   thinking   without   thinking”,   and   “Outliers:   The   Story   of   Success”.   Amazingly,   all   the   books   have   been  
featured  on  The  New  York  Best  Sellers  list.  Gladwell,  who  was  born  on  September  3,  1963,  is  not  only  a  writer  but  is  
also  a  journalist  and  speaker.   As  a  staff  writer  for  the  prestigious  “New  Yorker”  ever  since  1966,  he  has  gained  a  lot  of  
popularity   due   to   this   books   that   deal   with   his   research   in   various   areas   of   social   science.   Most   importantly,   he   is  
known  to  write  in  a  way  that  provokes  and  challenges  the  reader  to  think  differently.    This  is  our  summary  of  his  book:  
Outliers:  The  Story  of  Success  

Preston  and  Stig’s  General  Thoughts  on  the  Book    

We  were  initially  turned  on  to  this  book  by  a  comment  that  Charlie  Munger  made  during  a  shareholders  
meeting.  Although  many  might  find  the  discussion  of  extraordinary  people  un-­‐relatable,  we  are  of  the  
opinion  that  the  book  provides  great  insights  into  the  importance  of  finding  your  own  unique  “assets”.  
Perhaps  contrarily  to  others  I  don’t  see  this  book  as  a  testament  to  the  concept  of  luck.  I  would  much  
rather  say  that  if  you  are  willing  to  work  hard,  are  talented,  and  you  are  lucky  to  have  the  right  
opportunities,  you  will  become  successful.  Even  the  most  successful  people  in  this  world  are  hard  working,  
and  a  single  individual  has  hardly  been  successful  by  merely  having  birthdays  on  a  lucky  date  or  simply  
being  gifted  with  special  skills.    

Preface  
The  Outliers  is  a  book  that  deals  with  the  enigmatic  mystery  of  why  some  people  succeed  far  more  than  other  people.  
In  his  own  thought  provoking  way,  Gladwell  asserts  that  the  reality  of  success  if  quite  different  and  if  people  want  to  
really   grasp   the   true   meaning   of   why   people   succeed,   they   should   delve   into   other   areas   of   their   life   that   includes  
their   birthplace,   family   and   birthdates.   Gladwell   explains   the   secrets   behind   the   success   of   Bill   Gates,   the   Beatles,   star  
athletes  and  other  successful  people  who  have  pushed  the  boundaries  in  their  lives.  

Chapter  1:  The  Matthew  Effect  

Malcolm  talks  about  a  series  of  findings  all  through  the  first  chapter.  Interestingly,  he  argues  that  our  perception  of  
success  is  profoundly  wrong.  He  explains  a  unique  statistic  that  describes  the  selection  procedure  of  the  Canadian  
hockey  league.  While  everyone  thinks  that  success  depends  upon  factors  such  as  talent,  intelligence,  hard  work  and  
lifestyle,  Gladwell  states  that  an  individual’s  success  depends  heavily  on  external  factors.    With  the  case  of  the  hockey  
players,  the  timing  of  their  birth  played  a  crucial  roll  to  their  success.    

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For  instance,  40%  of  the  players  in  the  hockey  league  were  born  between  the  months  of  January  and  March,  30%  
between  April  and  June,  20%  between  July  and  September  and  the  remaining  10%  were  born  between  October  and  
December.    This  simply  means  that  a  child  born  in  January  has  a  significant  advantage  over  the  other  kids  because  he  
is  going  to  be  more  physically  and  mentally  mature  than  the  other  kids.  These  privileged  kids  will  be  selected  to  the  
best  teams  receiving  even  better  coaching,  and  train  with  even  better  teammates,  compounding  the  built-­‐in  
advantage  they  have  over  kids  born  later  that  year.    

Gladwell  provides  several  other  examples  in  baseball,  hockey  and  soccer  to  prove  that  children  born  earlier  have  a  
certain  advantage.  Further,  he  compares  this  concept  in  the  education  system  and  asserts  that  parents  with  children  
born  in  later  months  often  try  to  hold  their  child  back  before  beginning  kindergarten  for  the  same  reason.    

As  Gladwell  talks  about  the  advantages,  it  makes  one  wonder  whether  talent  plays  a  role  in  success.  As  an  answer,  
Gladwell   agrees   that   it   does   play   a   role;   however,   it   might   not   be   as   highly   important   as   you   may   think.   Not   everyone  
who’s   born   in   January   that   plays   hockey   becomes   an   instant   success,   but   there   are   other   factors   that   could   help   a  
person  to  become  successful.  A  sociologist  named  Robert  Merton  coined  this  phenomenon  as  the  “Matthew  Effect”,  
which  states  that  people  who  receive  special  advantages  during  their  lives  are  more  likely  to  attain  success.      

Chapter  2:  The  10,000-­‐Hour  Rule  

If  a  person’s  success  isn’t  based  solely  on  his  ability  or  talent,  what  really  makes  an  individual  successful?  According  to  
Gladwell,  it  also  depends  on  the  “10,000  hour  rule”,  which  states  that  it  takes  approximately  10,000  hours  of  practice  
for  an  individual  to  achieve  mastery  in  any  field.  Moreover,  this  rule  applies  to  a  child  if  he/she  enters  into  some  kind  
of  special  program  that  offers  incredible  opportunities,  thus  giving  him  a  chance  to  put  in  those  hours  of  practice.  To  
explain  this  concept  further,  Gladwell  takes  the  example  of  Bill  Joy,  Bill  Gates  and  the  Beatles.    

Bill  Joy,  the  co-­‐founder  of  Sun  Microsystems,  found  that  he  was  presented  with  a  string  of  opportunities  to  help  him  
succeed.  Interestingly,  he  was  able  to  attend  one  of  the  only  universities  that  offered  a  time-­‐sharing  system  for  its  
computers  and  since  the  computers  had  a  bug,  he  was  able  to  access  them  for  an  unlimited  amount  of  time.  In  an  
interview  with  Gladwell,  he  stated  that  it  took  him  10,000  hours  to  practice  and  write  programs  that  are  used  by  
millions  of  people  even  today.    

Similarly,  Bill  Gates  experienced  numerous  coincidences  as  he  happened  to  attend  the  only  private  school  that  
allowed  a  time-­‐sharing  system  with  their  computers.  Bill  Gates,  just  like  Bill  Joy,  used  the  opportunity  to  his  advantage  
and  the  fact  that  he  lived  close  to  the  University  of  Washington  that  offered  free  computer  hours  helped  him  too.    

Upon  taking  a  closer  look  on  the  biography  of  Beatles,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  they  had  the  opportunity  to  
practice  and  master  their  skills  when  they  were  struggling  as  a  high  school  band.  Incredibly,  they  played  about  1200  
times  in  night  clubs  between  1960  and  1965,  thus  catapulting  them  towards  success.    

Based  on  these  findings,  Gladwell  concludes  that  the  people  born  between  1954  and  1955  had  a  greater  opportunity  
to  become  successful  within  the  computer  industry.  People  who  experienced  a  raging  success  included  Bill  Gates,  Paul  
Allen,  Steve  Blamer,  Steve  Jobs,  Eric  Schmidt,  Vinod  Khosla  and  many  others.  The  reason  was  that  they  had  the  right  
age  and  opportunities  to  put  in  the  hours  and  become  skilled  before  the  computer  boom.    

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Chapter  3:  The  Trouble  with  Geniuses,  Part  1  
In  this  section,  Gladwell  talks  about  how  people  are  awed  by  geniuses  with  higher  IQ  levels.  He  notes  that  Christopher  
Langan,  a  genius,  has  gained  celebrity  status  as  an  outlier.  With  his  IQ  over  195,  a  number  that  was  more  than  Albert  
Einstein’s  IQ  of  150,  he’s  considered  by  many  people  as  the  smartest  man  in  America.  Gladwell  also  talks  about  Lewis  
Terman,  a  professor  in  the  Stanford  University  who  decided  to  test  the  IQ  of  a  boy  named  Henry  Cowell.  Cowell’s  IQ,  
which  was  at  140  points,  stunned  Terman  because  that  was  very  close  to  the  genius  level.  Commonly,  people  think  
that  these  men  are  destined  to  achieve  greater  things  because  they  are  so  smart.    

Terman  created  a  group  of  highly  intelligent  children  who  were  selected  after  various  IQ  tests.  For  years,  Terman  kept  
track  of  ‘Termites’,  a  name  given  to  the  geniuses  in  his  group.  However  after  years  passed,  Terman,  who  expected  his  
Termites  to  become  great  leaders  in  the  society,  was  disappointed  to  discover  that  achievement  and  intellect  weren’t  
connected.    

Gladwell  explains  this  concept  further  by  asserting  that  an  individual’s  IQ  or  intelligence  does  matter;  however,  it  must  
reach  or  go  beyond  a  certain  threshold.  It’s  very  similar  to  basketball  where  a  player  surely  gains  an  advantage  due  to  
his   height,   but   the   height,   just   like   intelligence,   has   a   threshold   too.   Simply   put,   if   one   has   an   IQ   of   about   120,  
additional  IQ  may  not  really  help  him.  It  is  other  factors  outside  of  raw  intelligence  that  determines  how  successful  
you  will  become.      

Chapter  4:  The  Trouble  with  Geniuses,  Part  2  

In  this  section,  Gladwell  compares  the  history  of  two  geniuses  namely  Christopher  Langan  and  Robert  Oppenheimer.  
He  further  states  that  if  Langan  was  born  in  a  wealthy  family  of  doctors  with  several  high  connections,  he  would  
probably  be  a  doctor  today.  Langan  was  born  to  an  abusive  father  and  irresponsible  mother.  As  a  kid,  he  faced  several  
difficulties  and  at  one  point,  he  even  lost  a  scholarship  from  the  Reed  College  simply  because  his  mother  was  unable  
to  fill  out  the  necessary  paperwork.  Langan  worked  in  factories  and  also  as  a  bouncer  at  a  bar  located  on  Long  Island.    

On  the  other  hand,  Robert  Oppenheimer,  who  gained  immense  popularity  as  a  physicist  during  the  World  War  II,  was  
born  in  a  rich  family  to  a  successful  businessman.  He  had  the  opportunity  to  attend  the  best  colleges  when  he  was  
very  young  and  although  his  thought  process  was  similar  to  Langan’s  thinking,  he  had  the  ability  to  carve  out  a  way  for  
himself  in  the  worst  of  the  situations.    

Gladwell  states  that  Oppenheimer’s  practical  intelligence  was  definitely  a  major  factor  in  his  success.  To  emphasize  his  
point,  Gladwell  presents  the  findings  of  a  study  conducted  by  Annette  Lareau.  The  study  delved  deep  into  the  
parenting  styles  of  rich  families  in  comparison  with  poorer  families.  Incredibly,  Lareau  discovered  that  children  who  
grew  up  in  a  sophisticated  environment  were  able  to  better  communicate  with  others  including  questioning  
authorities,  while  children  who  grew  up  in  poorer  families  usually  avoided  such  situations.    

Since   Langan   was   born   in   a   poor   family,   he   wasn’t   able   to   function   like   Oppenheimer   and   there   was   nothing   he   could  
do  about  it.  Similarly,  Terman’s  ‘Termites’  met  the  same  fate  as  none  of  the  kids  who  were  from  a  poorer  background  
were  able  to  make  a  name  for  themselves.    

Chapter  5:  The  Three  Lessons  of  Joe  Flom  

In  this  section,  Gladwell  talks  about  a  Jewish  man,  Joe  Flom,  who  has  the  perfect  rags-­‐to-­‐riches  story.  Flom  tasted  
spectacular  success  and,  up  to  his  death,  earned  almost  $1  billion  every  year.  However,  Gladwell  implores  the  reader  

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to  apply  everything  that’s  been  explained  in  the  first  four  chapters  and  understand  that  success  doesn’t  pop  up  out  of  
nowhere.  Successful  people  don’t  really  achieve  it  all  by  themselves  and  their  background  clearly  matters.    

Lesson  One:  The  Importance  of  being  Jewish  

Alexander  Bickel,  a  man  who  tried  to  get  a  job  in  Mudge  Rose,  was  one  of  Flom’s  classmates  from  the  Harvard  
University.  Bickel’s  background  was  similar  to  Flom’s  because  he  too  was  the  son  of  a  Jewish  immigrant  couple,  and  
he,  just  like  Flom,  went  to  a  school  in  New  York  before  attending  the  City  College.  However,  he  was  denied  a  job  in  
Mudge  Rose  since  the  senior  partner  felt  that  their  firm  would  face  limited  possibilities  of  growth  if  they  were  to  hire  a  
boy  of  his  antecedents.  Therefore,  Flom  and  Bickel  found  jobs  at  other  undesirable  firms  with  less  work.  However,  
with  a  twist  in  fate,  these  jobs,  including  litigations  and  hostile  takeovers,  suddenly  became  amazing  opportunities  
when  the  industry  experienced  a  major  boom  in  mergers  and  acquisitions.  The  best  part  was  that  their  undesirable  
jobs  were  suddenly  something  everyone  wanted  to  do  and  so,  Bickel,  Flom  and  others  were  in  a  perfect  position  to  
exploit  the  situation  to  their  advantage.    

Lesson  Two:  Demographic  Luck  

Gladwell  talks  about  the  interesting  story  of  Maurice  Janklow,  a  son  of  a  Jewish  immigrant  couple.  He  attended  the  
Brooklyn  Law  School  way  back  in  1919  and  bought  a  writing-­‐paper  firm  and  it  appeared  like  he  was  about  to  make  it  
big.  However,  the  business  failed  and  Maurice  struggled,  but  his  son  Mort  Janklow  went  on  to  amass  a  fortune  when  
he  conducted  business  with  Cox  Broadcasting.    

Gladwell  compares  the  stories  of  both  the  father  and  son  and  states  that  the  timing  of  their  birth  played  a  key  role  in  
their  success.  While  Maurice  bought  the  business  when  the  US  was  almost  on  the  verge  of  the  Great  Depression,  Mort  
who  was  born  in  the  1930s  was  perfectly  poised  to  take  up  good  education  and  become  a  successful  lawyer.  Gladwell  
declares  that  the  1930s  was  perfect  for  aspiring  lawyers,  just  like  it  was  for  the  software  programmers  who  were  born  
in  1955.    

Lesson  Three:  The  Garment  Industry  and  Meaningful  Work  

In  this  section  Gladwell  explains  how  Jews  were  unlike  any  other  immigrants.  He  talks  about  Louis  Borgeicht,  an  
immigrant  from  Poland  and  Regina  Borgeicht,  an  immigrant  from  Hungary.  Once  the  couple  realized  that  there  was  a  
solid  demand  for  clothes  in  New  York,  Louis  began  manufacturing  aprons  at  home  while  Regina  assisted  in  selling  
them  on  the  streets.  The  couple  couldn’t  own  their  own  land  in  Europe,  but  they  were  experienced  and  knew  how  to  
live  in  big  cities.  Moreover,  they  had  specific  skills  in  making  clothing  and  a  great  boom  in  the  garment  industry  
opened  several  doors  for  them.  An  entrepreneur  working  in  the  garment  industry  found  that  it  was  meaningful  work  
since  it  was  linked  with  complexity,  autonomy,  and  a  perfect  connection  between  hard  work  and  reward.    

Upon  inspecting  the  family  trees  of  Jewish  immigrants  created  by  Louise  Farkas,  a  sociology  student,  Gladwell  points  
out   that   there   are   definite   similarities   between   how   they   began   working   and   while   the   second   generation   usually  
consisted   of   garment   manufacturers,   the   children   born   to   them   went   on   to   become   successful,   educated  
professionals.   Though   the   Jews   faced   disadvantages   as   immigrants,   they   ultimately   proved   to   be   incredible  
opportunities.    

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Chapter  6:  Harlan,  Kentucky  
In  this  section,  Gladwell  emphasizes  how  cultural  legacies  operate  like  powerful  forces,  spreading  to  several  
generations  one  after  the  other.  Although  we  see  numerous  alterations  in  our  economical,  demographical  and  social  
conditions,  our  cultural  legacies  play  an  important  role  in  directing  our  behavior.  To  explain  his  point  further,  Gladwell  
th
discusses  several  unexplainable  events  that  occurred  in  the  19  century  in  Harlan,  Kentucky.    

The  Harlan  County,  situated  on  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  was  founded  by  about  eight  families  that  existed  in  the  
British  Isles.  After  a  period  of  time,  two  families  fought  with  each  other  and  what  had  started  as  a  small  fight  in  poker  
turned  out  so  violent  that  people  were  killed  in  the  dozens  after  several  brutal  attacks.  Interestingly,  this  was  only  one  
among  several  other  feuds  that  were  occurring  all  over  Kentucky  at  the  same  time.  So,  how  do  you  explain  this  
phenomenon?  

As  an  answer,  sociologists  addressed  that  several  original  inhabitants  from  England,  Scotland  and  Northern  Ireland  
believed  in  the  “Culture  of  Honor”,  which  stated  that  they  had  to  prove  themselves  to  be  strong  and  valiant.  In  other  
words,  their  honor  and  reputation  was  most  important  for  the  herdsmen.    

In  another  study  conducted  by  Richard  Nisbett  and  Doy  Cohen  at  the  University  of  Michigan,  several  students  who  
were  about  18  to  20  years  old  were  subjected  to  a  myriad  of  insults  before  they  returned  back  to  their  classrooms.  
The  reactions  displayed  by  the  students  were  measured  by  taking  a  closer  look  at  their  facial  expressions,  hormone  
levels  in  saliva,  handshakes  and  other  factors.  Astonishingly,  the  results  displayed  that  the  students  hailing  from  the  
southern  states  were  absolutely  furious  and  researchers  attributed  this  to  their  cultural  legacy.  In  addition,  there  were  
evident  differences  in  the  reactions  of  these  students  when  compared  to  others  from  different  regions.    

Chapter  7:  The  Ethnic  Theory  of  Plane  Crashes  

The  concept  of  cultural  legacy  goes  further  beyond  a  feud  that  occurred  in  the  Harlan  County.  In  fact,  the  concept  can  
account  for  the  tragic  air  crashes  that  occurred  from  1988  to  1998  in  the  flights  run  by  Korean  Air.  At  that  point  of  
time,  Korean  Air  was  considered  highly  unsafe  for  travel  since  their  crash  rates  were  about  17  times  higher  than  that  
of  the  United  Airlines.  A  deep  investigation  commenced  where  they  reviewed  all  the  data  pertaining  to  the  Avianca  
052  crash  that  occurred  in  1990.    

There  are  several  factors  involved  in  a  plane  crash  and  though  it’s  not  a  result  of  any  specific  error,  it’s  a  combination  
of  several  errors  that  often  lead  to  disastrous  outcomes.  Captain  Laureano  Caviedes,  the  pilot  of  Avianca  052,  wasn’t  
drunk  or  drugged;  in  fact,  he  was  exhausted  after  being  held  up  for  about  77  minutes  by  the  Air  Traffic  Controller  
(ATC).  Finally,  he  was  granted  clearance  to  land,  but  since  the  headwind  plummeted  substantially,  the  plane  couldn’t  
land.  Unfortunately,  the  autopilot  wasn’t  even  working  and  though  the  pilot  tried  to  save  the  plane  by  circling  around  
with  the  intention  of  landing  again,  the  engines  died  resulting  in  a  huge  crash  that  claimed  158  lives.  He  had  simply  
run  out  of  gas.  

This  information  makes  one  question  as  to  why  the  plane  crashed  even  when  both  the  pilot  and  first  officer  were  
aware  of  the  fuel  shortage.  At  this  point,  Gladwell  presents  a  transcript  of  the  conversation  that  was  retrieved  from  
the  black  box  and  it’s  quite  obvious  that  the  primal  reason  for  the  crash  was  the  first  officer’s  inability  to  communicate  
effectively  in  such  a  catastrophic  situation.  Upon  further  investigation,  it  was  found  that  Klotz,  the  man  supposed  to  
communicate  with  ATC  had  engaged  in  “mitigated  speech”,  a  term  used  by  linguists  to  describe  people  who  have  a  
tendency  to  cover  up  or  sugarcoat  things.    

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In  the  airline  industry,  pilots  receive  a  lot  of  respect  and  have  the  ability  to  command  others  in  undesirable  situations,  
but  Klotz  who  was  a  first  officer,  had  problems  communicating  the  exact  message  when  the  plane  was  about  to  crash.  
You  would  expect  frantic  activity  in  the  cockpit  in  such  frantic  situations,  but  incredibly  there  was  a  lot  of  silence  in  
this  event  and  Klotz  never  told  the  ATC  that  they  would  crash  if  they  weren’t  given  immediate  attention.  Since  Klotz  
hailed  from  a  country  that  had  a  different  cultural  legacy,  he  wasn’t  able  to  get  his  point  across  when  the  situation  
called  for  it.    

To  explain  his  findings  further,  Gladwell  discusses  a  study  that  showed  that  people  from  low  PDI  countries  (Power  
Distance  Index)  usually  tend  to  downplay  authority  while  people  from  high  PDI  countries  abide  with  respect  for  
authority.  In  other  words,  Klotz  who  was  from  Columbia,  a  high  PDI  country,  couldn’t  downplay  the  authority  of  the  
officer  in  ATC  and  thus  headed  to  a  fatal  crash.    

Fortunately,  Korean  Air  realized  where  they  went  wrong  when  their  pilots  were  using  the  same  mitigated  speech  
patterns,  thus  failing  to  communicate.  After  they  identified  this  problem,  they  amended  it  and  Korean  Air  is  now  
considered  very  safe  to  travel.  One  way  that  this  was  done  was  to  change  the  language  in  the  cockpit  to  English.  
Compared  to  Korean  where  you  can  speak  in  four  different  forms  depending  on  the  rank  and  politeness  of  the  person  
you  speak  to;  English  is  a  language  with  lower  power  distance.  An  informal  tone  is  crucial  in  emergencies,  where  
communication  needs  to  be  quick  and  without  any  misunderstandings.        

Chapter  8:  Rice  Paddies  and  Math  Tests  

Gladwell  states  that  Asians  are  generally  more  adept  at  mathematical  calculations  than  other  westerners.  For  
example,  if  a  group  of  people  had  20  seconds  to  memorize  the  number  4,7,8,5,9,6,7,  most  Chinese  people  would  
usually  get  the  entire  sequence  right  whereas  only  50%  of  English  speakers  would  be  able  to  report  the  numbers  aloud  
in  a  proper  sequence.  Why?  Well,  since  humans  can  memorize  information  in  just  a  span  of  two  seconds  and  since  
Chinese  numbers  are  shorter,  they  have  an  advantage.  Moreover,  Asian  children  generally  learn  counting  at  a  very  
tender  age  and  since  their  languages  are  constructed  differently,  it  makes  it  easy  for  them  to  grasp  numbers.    

Gladwell  then  talks  about  how  rice  cultivation  had  a  major  effect  on  the  cultural  legacy  of  China.  As  rice  cultivation  
demands  specific  set  of  skills  and  extra  efforts,  it  is  known  that  the  people  who  cultivated  rice  work  more  than  any  
other  type  of  farmer.  The  Chinese  believe  in  working  hard  and  shun  laziness.  Gladwell  concludes  that  the  Chinese  
legacy  that  believes  immensely  in  hard  work,  cooperation  and  smart  planning  will  definitely  reap  great  results  over  
time.  Mathematics  is  not  dependent  on  talent,  but  it  is  dependent  on  the  individual’s  persistency;  therefore,  Asians  
are  well  adept  to  it  from  their  cultural  legacy.    

A  research  conducted  by  Erling  Boe  states  that  there  is  a  direct  link  between  countries  and  math  rankings  on  the  
TIMSS,  a  test  used  to  evaluate  academic  achievements  between  countries.  Countries  that  do  amazingly  well  on  TIMSS  
are  Singapore,  China,  Japan,  Hong  Kong  and  South  Korea.      

Chapter  9:  Marita’s  Bargain  

Gladwell  reiterates  the  importance  of  cultural  legacy  and  how  it  can  change  lives  drastically.  He  talks  about  KIPP,  a  
public  school  in  New  York  that  focuses  completely  on  achievements  and  academics.  KIPP  has  certainly  garnered  a  lot  
of  attention  primarily  because  it  has  managed  to  help  poor  students  with  low  income.  We  already  know  how  
countries  that  focus  on  rice  cultivation  are  known  to  work  hard.  Our  cultural  legacy  is  interconnected  to  our  attitude  
and  behavior  and  the  western  cultural  legacy  is  in  contrast  with  other  countries.  While  rice  paddies  are  grown  several  

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times  a  year,  corn  and  wheat  fields  of  the  western  culture  follow  a  procedure  of  planting,  harvesting  and  then  resting  
a  while.    

Interestingly,  this  trend  can  be  seen  even  in  western  educational  systems  where  the  number  of  working  days  in  a  year  
is  only  about  180,  which  is  much  lower  than  schools  that  run  for  220  days  in  South  Korea  or  243  days  in  Japan.  Karl  
Alexander,  a  sociologist,  noticed  a  fascinating  pattern  among  children  in  Baltimore.  He  noted  that  there  was  a  
considerable  gap  between  children  hailing  from  wealthy  families  and  other  kids  who  were  from  poorer  families.  
What’s  more  interesting  is  that  he  found  this  gap  in  their  achievements  only  after  the  summer  vacations,  which  meant  
that  while  the  rich  kids  ameliorated  their  skills  during  summer,  the  poorer  kids  relapsed.    

Gladwell  states  that  the  schools  in  western  countries  should  increase  the  number  of  working  days  just  like  KIPP.  For  
instance,  students  in  KIPP  attend  school  right  from  7.25  am  to  7  pm  on  weekdays  and  from  9  am  to  1  pm  on  
Saturdays.  During  the  summer  days,  school  was  held  from  8  am  to  2  pm  consistently.  They  follow  the  Asian  structure  
where  students  work  hard  from  dusk  to  dawn,  thus  becoming  highly  disciplined.  Needless  to  say,  the  students  also  
receive  a  lot  of  attention  from  their  teachers  and  though  at  least  80%  of  poor  children  enroll  into  schools,  students  in  
KIPP  get  a  head  start  to  achieve  something  in  their  lives.    

Conclusion:  A  Jamaican  Story  

In  this  section,  Gladwell  talks  about  his  own  rags-­‐to-­‐riches  story  where  his  grandmother,  a  Jamaican  slave,  was  taken  
by  William  Ford  as  a  concubine.  Gladwell  tracks  his  history  back  to  his  mother  who  became  a  prominent  writer  in  
Canada.  He  also  states  that  there  were  several  opportune  events  that  shaped  their  family’s  success.  Truly,  Gladwell  
has  been  able  to  completely  transform  the  way  success  is  perceived  by  most  people.  An  outlier  is  one  who  has  the  
ability  to  snatch  golden  opportunities  and  carve  his  beautiful  future.  As  a  conclusion,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  success  is  a  
combination  of  hard  work,  opportunities,  and  talent.  

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