Eliminate isolation, eliminate complexity

I started reading the Tipping Point because people say it's a remarkably well-written, insightful book about word-of-mouth marketing. This was, like, 3 years ago or so. Then a few months ago it dawned on me that I can probably learn a lot from this book -- about small groups. Now that is interesting. I've been slowly realizing that principles of leadership in small groups apply to business settings, and vice versa -- so why not trends?

And then, Malcolm Gladwell (the writer of the Tipping Point) appeared on the same stage as my pastor, Erwin McManus, at the Catalyst Conference. (If this feels like deja vu, it's because I blogged about this already. Scroll down).

Then another one of my pastors, Eric, sent me the recap from the website. A blogger reported on Gladwell's speech.

btw: It's still so weird (in a cool, out-of-the-box way) that a secular writer spoke to a Christian audience on leadership. But hey, like I said, the principles are the same wherever you go, so mo' powah!! I mean this guy's research is, like, mind-boggling. Okay, anyway. Here you go:

I could listen to Malcolm all day. He has a blazing intellect, a thirst for knowledge, and an uncanny talent to identify trends and understand their implications. I also appreciated his sense of humor, and his ability to connect his principles of Tipping Point to Christianity. Malcolm talked about the dynamic of change. To illustrate, he spoke about the obscure young man who popularized radio. The dude was a 22-year old with no political or positional power. He had a peon job one-step above the interns, no experience, and no money. However, one thing he did possess was an oversized dose of social power.Malcolm then elaborated on the concept of social power. Basically the evolution of society in the past 20-30 years has brought two huge changes to us: increased isolation and increased complexity. In response, connectors and experts are in demand, and they are the ones with the social power. As the church looks to change individual lives and entire cultures, our success will be contingent upon our capacity to build bridges to people (eliminate isolation), and place the good news of Jesus Christ into a simple and accessible context (eliminate complexity).

Tell me that doesn't get your mind and blood going... If it does, talk to me.

Well, I can think and chew on this kind of stuff all day long - as some of you know - but now I have to go spend millions of dollars (of my client's money).