I am a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. Through the power of storytelling, he is able to illustrate important points worth keeping in mind. I have previously read his books David and Goliath as well as Outliers. I knew the Blink would be another book worth reading. I was not disappointed.
Blink is about the power of the mind. It is 296 pages long organized into six sections along with an introduction and conclusion. Each section is a series of interrelated stories of interrelated perspectives on the overall theme.
In Blink, Gladwell outlined three objectives of the book:
- Quick decisions can be as good as slow, deliberate decisions.
- We need to know when to trust our instincts and when to ignore them.
- We can learn to control our snap decisions.
The book began with a powerful story about the sale of a statue to the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. The museum researched the statue at length before purchasing it. However, art experts looked at it and immediately believed something was wrong. They made a snap judgment regarding authenticity. It seems the art experts are right, it is a forgery.
In subsequent stories, Gladwell showed the power of using instinct to make decisions as well as times where instincts produced horrible results.
The human mind has two decision-making mechanisms. One is extremely fast, it is the one that does its best to keep us safe. The other is more rational. The key to success is being able to harness the correct part of the brain at the right time.
One of the things that makes someone an expert is the ability to recognize and interpret patterns. According to Gladwell, code breakers in WWII were able to identify morse code operators by their unique way of tapping out codes. They could then locate these individuals as they moved around the battlefield thus identifying there their units were. This definitely falls into operational security. Gladwell also talked about researchers who could predict a divorce or malpractice lawsuits after watching a married couple or doctor talk for a few minutes. Their accuracy was extremely high.
Gladwell shared examples where this expert knowledge and decision-making could be captured in systems. The key was to identify indicators that lead to the right decisions. One example he shared was about a hospital that used a checklist to determine what level of care to give a patient. Sometimes, less information is more informative. In the case of Millenium Challenge, having more information bogged down operations and decision making.
Near the end of the book, Gladwell spoke about social action based on what he discovered. There are times when our senses prejudge situations. He shared an example where blind auditions resulted in an increase in women musicians. This is one of the things I like about The Voice. The judges are not prejudiced by the look of the performer. Gladwell offered commentary on other areas that could use more blind observation in order to reduce discrimination.
As expected, Blink was a fascinating book. I certainly learned quite a bit while reading it. I certainly would recommend it to others.
Additional Reading
- Book Review: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
- Book Review: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
Photo by prottoy hassan on Unsplash
In the spirit of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link, which means that if you purchase this item through my link I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.
Plus, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. 🙂 Thank you in advance for your support!
Pingback: September 2019 Reading List | Tubarks - The Musings of Stan Skrabut
Pingback: Book Review: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants | Tubarks - The Musings of Stan Skrabut