Summary
In his 2008 article, “How to Be a Success,” Michael Gladwell contemplates on the essential attributes of a successful person in the 21st century. Pursuing success, both in social interactions and in business is currently seen as one of the main goals for an individual to achieve. According to Gladwell (2008), the formula for success incorporates talent, experience, and a proper sense of timing.
Despite the undeniable significance of being in the right place at the right time and possessing the required extent of talent being crucial parts of success, Gladwell also demonstrates the importance of diligent work. Starting with the example of a fellow student at the university of Michigan, who had a Major in Computer Studies, Gladwell (2008) emphasizes the immense dedication of his friend to learning and working as the vital steps toward becoming an expert in his field. Likewise, the necessity of practice is emphasized in the example of hockey players. Gladwell (2008) specifies that none of the leading teams contains players that were born after September, 1 since younger athletes have disadvantages compared to their peers that have developed physically.
Introducing the concept of success s as the ability to be in the right place at the right time, Gladwell (2008) pinpoints the quintessence of success both in personal interactions and in a business context. Although the author admits that success also depends heavily on one’s personality, he makes it explicitly obvious that hard work and determination constitute a crucial part of one’s future prospects.
Response
Reading Gladwell’s (2008) piece leaves rather mixed feelings. On the one hand, his statement concerning the importance of hard work as the cornerstone step in advancing in any field is quite inspirational since it implies that one can succeed even without substantial financial resources. The idea that one can bypass the rigid social hierarchy and teh constraints of the social class by using one’s creative and business potential does seem to be quite positive. The specified idea encourages hope and invites one to explore the full extent of one’s creative potential, as well as build substantial business processs.
On the other hand, the emphasis on continuous hard work might seem to be not only discouraging but also slightly misleading to some people. Specifically, Gladwell (2008) is quite right to outline the role o persistence and diligence in building one’s personal and business success, yet he significantly downplays the role of social connections. Moreover, Gladwell (2008) omits the fact that, along with productivity, diligence, and proficiency, one also needs to have a clear sense of direction, strong leadership skills, and a proper grasp of the situation in teh target market, where one can offer one’s product or service. Therefore, the article in question is not inspiring and contentious. The points that Gladwell (2008) makes are admittedly true, yet him overlooking other major success factors might seem as disingenuous. Therefore, Gladwell’s (2008) article raises a remarkable debate on a rather important topic on the role of social networking in developing business success.
Reference
Gladwell, M. (2008). How to be a success. MacLean’s. Web.