The document summarizes key lessons from Malcolm Gladwell's book. It discusses how Ranadive led an underdog basketball team to championships, and how having fewer students in a class can be preferable. It also discusses choosing to be a big fish in a small pond like Elon Musk did with SpaceX, and how visible disadvantages can become hidden advantages, using examples of Spielberg and his dyslexia leading him to focus on visual storytelling. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz kept employee benefits during the recession due to his mission of inspiring people. Size does not equal power, as shown by Zappos' strong customer service beating out bigger competitors. One should use competitors' success against them but not be too strong to

1. @agatestudio
David and Goliath
(Book Review)
Andrew
Publishing
Agate Studio

2. Book Review

3. 3000 years ago on battlefield in ancient Palestine,
a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with
nothing more than a stone and a sling, and every
since the names of David and Goliath have stood
for battles between underdogs and giants.

4. • David’s sling is a devastating weapon
• Medical experts believe that Goliath
was suffering from acromegaly

5. THE ADVANTAGES OF
DISADVANTAGES

6. Ranadive led twelve years old team
consists of two serious basketball
players and six girls who had never
played the game to national basketball
championships.

7. Which do you think is better, school with
larger or smaller number of students in
their class? A class with 30 students or a
class with 9 students?

8. Big pond or small pond?
Brown University vs University of Maryland

9. DESIRABLE DIFFICULTY

10. David Boies was born with dyslexia.
Now, he perhaps the nation's most
highly acclaimed and sought-after
attorney.

11. BUSINESS LESSON
Source: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131002224632-
80844253-5-critical-businesses-lessons-from-malcolm-gladwell-s-new-
book

12. Use Your Competitor’s Success Against Them
According to Gladwell,
“it is good to be bigger
and stronger than
your opponent. It is
not so good to be so
big and strong that
you are a sitting duck
for a rock fired at 150
miles per hour.”

13. Never Forget the “Principle of Legitimacy”
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was in a
tough situation during the recession. But
with a mission statement to “inspire and
nurture the human spirit” of the customer,
how could Shultz justify not doing the
same for his employees? How could he
expect his baristas and store managers to
put people over profits, if he couldn’t do
the same? Schultz had to decide between
his short-term economic interests and his
long-held beliefs. He kept the benefits.

14. Never Mistake Size for Power
In the battle against giants like Amazon and
Walmart, Zappos was powerful in it’s own
right—not because it was the biggest
company, but because it found strength in
other forms: by it’s ability to take bigger risks,
by shattering industry conventions, by
wowing customers with unrivaled customer
service. Just like Gladwell writes in his book,
“Power can come in other forms as well - in
breaking rules, in substituting speed and
surprise for strength.” Just because your
competition is bigger than you, doesn’t make
them more powerful.

15. Choose to be a Big Fish in a Little Pond
Entrepreneur Elon Musk said, “I
recommend that people consider arenas
outside of the Internet.” Instead of starting
another Internet company like most
entrepreneurs, Musk entered fields in
which few people are crazy enough to
venture to: a rocket ship company
(SpaceX) and an electric sports car
company (Tesla).

16. Your Visible Disadvantage Is Actually Your
Hidden Mega-Advantage
"I never felt like a victim," director Steven
Spielberg said of his dyslexia in an interview
with the Los Angeles Times. Spielberg
channeled his disadvantage into an advantage
by honing his skill of visual storytelling.
"Movies really helped me... kind of saved me
from shame, from guilt... Making movies was
my great escape." Other dyslexics such as
Richard Branson had to make up for his
disadvantage by honing his verbal
communication skills and charisma. What was
once his biggest disadvantage eventually led
to his biggest mega-advantage.

17. Thank You!