Malcolm Gladwell is the master story-teller of our era.
But his stories always have a useful, challenging life lesson.
In David and Goliath, through an array of stories, he writes that great strength and success can come from turning disadvantages into advantages.
After all, what other choice do we have?

That is my “one paragraph summary” of the “key points” — how I “described” Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, in my synopsis yesterday at the First Friday Book Synopsis.

The book is an unbelievable, challenging, motivating, and enlightening treasure trove of stories.  As a story-teller, Malcolm Gladwell really does seem to stand alone. I listed a “few” of the stories from the book (not all):

• The shepherd with a sling… (against the clumsy giant who would not change his “game plan”)
• Lawrence of Arabia – and his utterly unexpected tactics
• The doctor who practically ”tortured” his child-age patients, in order 
to save their, and others, lives… (and, the inner strength that came 
from/grew out of the death of a parent while very young)
• The courage created by/flowing from the “remote miss” (The London 
Blitz, and the lack of intended consequences for the Germans)
• The “nerd” basketball coach and his young girls basketball team — 
and the relentless full-court press…
• The attack dogs, the Civil Rights protestors, and Bull Connor
• The science major who “lost her dream” and changed majors
• The dyslexic lawyer who was the Super Bowl Champion listener
• The police officer who delivered Turkeys at Thanksgiving – in the 
“worst part of town”…
• The single village that saved many Jewish people

And though the lessons are many, I came away with, and shared, these five takeaways:

1)     Identify your own disadvantages. Read stories of those with similar disadvantages who turned them into advantages. Read – and learn – and “copy.”

2)     Don’t jump to conclusions about what will work. Remember the lesson of the “Inverted Curve” – a good thing can become a bad thing when it is too much of the good thing.

3)    Work on developing your strengths. Really work at this! – Work long, and hard, at this. (This is what “build on your strengths” is all about, isn’t it?)

4)     Play “your game.” Don’t try to win at “their game” – unless you genuinely have mastered that game, also.

5)     Choose your pond wisely. Do not be a small fish in a big pond. Do everything you can to choose a pond where you can be a “player,” a “big fish.” If you do so, you will be more productive, and more successful.

I really, really liked this book.

——————–

You can purchase my synopses of four of Gladwell’s five books:  The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and (coming soon – app. mid-November, 2013) David and Goliath at our companion site:  15minutebusinessbooks.com.  Each synopsis comes with my comprehensive, multi-page handout, plus the audio recording of my presentation.
And, if you were to purchase all four, you would see the “evolution,” and I think enhancement, of my handouts.  The most recent ones are more comprehensive, and “look” much better.