Cydcor Reviews Outliers: The Story of Success
About Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
What makes high achievers different from you or me? Malcolm Gladwell answers that question with his book, Outliers. Many overachievers believe in one of the core concepts in the book: the “10,000-hour rule.” Gladwell suggests that to be the best at something, you need to study it for 10,000 hours. In this book, he finds the outliers—men and women who do things that are out of the ordinary.
Outliers is a good read because of Gladwell’s fascination with psychology, law, statistics, and sociology. His colorful writing provides a powerful and personal analysis of why some people become outliers and some don’t. Despite its quirky characters and lofty critiques, you’ll find echoes of your life in his writing.
Like Gladwell, at Cydcor, we encourage our employees and sales associates to set challenging goals that inspire achievement. We provide determined individuals opportunities to excel, work hard, and build successful careers.
Why Cydcor Reviews Recommends This Book:
Gladwell worked as a journalist at the Washington Post and as a writer for the New Yorker magazine. Instead of writing simple biographies of successful people, he investigates the communities where these exceptional people developed. He also examines the cultures that influenced them during their formative years and up to today.
Gladwell is passionate about social sciences and statistics. This interest led him to figure out why Canada’s star hockey players are consistently born in January, February, and March. But Gladwell isn’t just revealing cold facts and figures. He uses the book to examine his own life as an outlier.
Cydcor recommends this book because the author provides profoundly inspirational insights into how ordinary men and women achieve greatness. Gladwell suggests that everyone who is exceptional at something—like sales—has practiced for about 10,000 hours. Gladwell’s theory endorses Cydcor’s belief that professional achievement, recognition, and advancement is available for anyone who works hard and pursues each opportunity they find.
Our Favorite Part
Our favorite part of Outliers is Gladwell’s talent for revealing the unique twists and turns that influence someone’s life. For example, when Bill Gates was in the eighth grade, the mothers’ group at his school used the proceeds of their annual bake sale to purchase a personal computer for the students.
No software was available for the computer, so Gates learned how to program it by punching holes into computer cards—a very outdated practice today. After many hours of hard work, he got the computer to work. By the time he was a sophomore in high school, Gates had exhausted his school’s computer resources and sought further instruction at the University of Washington, where he met his future business partner, Paul Allen. Gates certainly had a gift for computing, but ultimately his achievements were powered by his 10,000 hours of hard work.
If we follow Gates’ example, if we pay attention and begin to see obstacles as opportunities, we will improve our chances for success.
As you read this book, you may remember the lessons you learned from teachers and mentors who taught you how to overcome obstacles. This book reminds us that the opportunity to succeed is always present; you just need to have a positive outlook and the determination to meet each challenge. You may not become a billionaire after reading Outliers, but your personal and professional life will become rich with possibility.
Who are the outliers that influenced your career path? Let us know about the men and women who inspire you to succeed. Share your ideas on Twitter and follow us @Cydcor.
We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company based in Canada to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor has come a long way. We’ve done this by having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.