1. coin catchy phrase

2. write book

3. create a demand for books based on pseudo-intellectualism

4. make sure it appears in every airport gift shop

5. ...

6. profit!

i kid, i kid, i own and read all his books.

Gladwell is successful because he relays a great anecdote. Anecdotes lend themselves well to re-telling, thus his books are popularised by word of mouth. "Man, I read this great piece by this guy called Gladwell about a policeman who could ready body language so well he held fire when facing off a kid with a gun."

And isn't that precisely the scenario outlined in Tipping point? That's pretty cool - a book that proves its own point. It also reminds me of people who get rich selling self help books.

Is there really a question whether there is something between 4 & 6?

If by "data" you mean "anecdotes", then you are spot-on.

Some supporting evidence would be helpful. I'm not familiar with his writing or criticism of it.

Read the Tipping Point. You'll understand him within the first chapter.

4 is the one I have trouble with. Where is there disproof of what he's saying? The Tipping Point made a very good case for Gladwell's theory. Blink wasn't as cohesive, but - again - I didn't see anything wrong with the theory itself.

If you want an example, read an article of his that's freely available called Big and Bad, and then look at NTSB safety stats. His article poses that SUVs are less safe because they are less maneuverable, and therefore more prone to accidents. His "proof" is that a Chevy TrailBlazer didn't handle nearly as well as a Porsche that costs 2x as much on a test track.

Fortunately for SUV owners, actual data does show that they're safer. They don't really handle much worse than sedans in their price class, and they do have lower instances of fatalities in accidents.

They make up nearly a half of the top 20 safest cars, while they are nowhere near half of the total models sold. Gladwell actually even shows the safety stats of a few hand picked sedans and SUVs, but doesn't bother showing the entirety of the data available, which proves the exact opposite of his thesis.

I'll check that story out. Thanks!