Outliers: the Story of Success

Knowledge and intelligence are specific characteristic traits that can lead us to experiencing professional success. Suppose a child scores within the 135-140 range on an IQ test. People would assume that child will become successful in life based on their high IQ score. The question is, how are certain people able to succeed in life while others tend to struggle? Is it solely based off their intelligence or IQ? Opportunities? Race and culture? In Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2” and “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes”, two chapters taken from his book Outliers: The Story of Success (2008), claims that there is a misunderstanding on what success is and how it can be achieved. Gladwell feels that the idea of having an extremely high IQ and success is faulty because there are various other factors to consider that can contribute to levels of success. In chapter four Gladwell argues that it is not a high IQ that defines success, but concerted cultivation. He emphasizes that concerted cultivation and opportunities given are essential to success regardless of one’s intelligence level because it is difficult to achieve success alone. He provides an example with a character named Chris Langan who had been limited to opportunities and success. In chapter seven, Gladwell claims that communication is an important principle to succeed professionally. However, Gladwell’s claims are complicated and supported by two other sources, "Dave Chapelle talks with Charlie Rose" (2007) by Charlie Rose and “Rethinking Hofstede: Intercultural Management in Poland” (2003) by Greg Allen. In chapter four “The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2”, Gladwell discusses how success is measured not through intelligence, rather by how you get to that point in life through opportunities by “concerted cultivation.” Gladwell introduces the term “concerted cultivation”, meaning you teach your kid how to be assertive and ask questions to authority at a young age because it will then