OUTLIERS -The Matthew Effect

THE MATTHEW EFFECT

The author of this classic expose on success argues that extra-ordinary achievement is less about talent than it is about preparation, opportunities and legacies. He digs deeper into the Canadian Hockey League and other sporting leagues across Europe to tie in factors that engender success in the players with what he termed ‘’The Matthew Effect’’. As alluded to in the gospel of Matthew 25:29, those to whom legacies and opportunities that favour success were given cannot but stand out from the pack. The legacies and opportunities bequeathed to them indeed aided them and offer smoother sails to success when combined with preparation.

Conversely, those we regard as non-performers or mediocre, are the ones whom by the virtue of their circumstances such as birth dates, had the odds stacked up against them. The system favours some people more than others. When all is said and done at the end of the day it all boils down to one truth. People don’t become successful in spite of their circumstances. They become successful because of it.

As Gladwell analyses the histories of hockey players, famous musical groups like the Beatles, ICT experts such as Bill Joy and Bill Gates, as well as other geniuses and outliers, a good picture of the path to success emerges. Lucky breaks no longer appear as the exceptions. They are the rules.