Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Review

The Book Review: Blink Vincent


This book is about those first two seconds. Two seconds does not necessarily mean you have to decide things just in two seconds, it means you have to choose from all the alternatives and make your decision in a short time. The author (Gladwell) expresses the idea that our brain uses two different ways to sense the current situation. The first one is, many of us are familiar with, the conscious strategy. And the second one is the adaptive unconscious. From this book, Gladwell wants to tell us some good points: Sometimes, we should convince ourselves that the adaptive unconscious is way too better than the traditional conscious strategy. Also, we need to know when to use the conscious strategy and when to use the other one. If a person uses the wrong strategy under an unsuitable situation, the outcome may turn out badly. What is more, the snap judgment and first impressions can be trained and controlled (most important point).

In my opinion, what makes Gladwell's books so well-known is that he uses many examples in daily life in order to inform his audiences about his notions. Fortunately, I have met some examples in my life, which related to his ideas.
1 In Gladwell's Nissan case, the dealer is doing a really awesome job because he has two characteristics: He uses the customer-centric method and treats every customer equally. He doesn't judge people by their appearances (fight the Warren Harding error). When I was in China one year ago, I saw a man wearing shabby clothes went into a BWM store. It seemed that he was poor and could not afford even the cheapest BMW in that shop. When he laid his fingers on a BMW X5, one salesman forbade him to do so and said some unrespectable words to him. However, a female saleswoman came out and treat this man like a potential buyer. She gave the man a cup of coffee and introduced all the detailed information about that BWM with smile on her face. The man thought for a while, and then he made a call. After ten minutes, his son came in with two huge briefcases. When his son opened these two briefcases, what were inside made me surprised: they were about three million cash (RMB). His father bought two BMW X5 by cash and this activity made the female saleswoman gain a lot of commission. From this case, I get to know that "Warren Harding error" is common and it is especially harmful for a salesman/saleswoman.

2 Around two years ago, the luxury brand - Louis Vuitton wanted to open a shop in Nanjing (my hometown city). However, the marketing people in Louis Vuitton were not sure about whether citizens in Nanjing could afford this expensive bag. One top manager, who was in charge of affairs in China, arrived in Nanjing. He didn't bring with him a professional team and order them to do analyses that would last several months like many other managers. He just stood near Xin Jiekou (a famous business circle in Nanjing), felt the surroundings, and counted the amount of luxury cars like BMW, Benz, Lexus, and so on. He finished counting after several minutes. After five months, Louis Vuitton opened its Nanjing store. You know what? The first year's revenue of this store was about 100,000,000 RMB and it meant this store sold nearly 30 bags in each day (this is amazing in China). In my opinion, this was a "blink" method although it took several minutes. The manager used his initial feelings about Nanjing and made a successful decision.

After reading this book, I will consider the incoming problems from a different angle. I always hear the saying "haste makes waste" and think it is true. However, I will use the "blink" method to solve some problems when circumstances permit in future.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Feature

• ISBN13: 9780316010665
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Overview

In his #1 bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. In BLINK, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. How do we make decisions--good and bad--and why are some people so much better at it than others? That's the question Malcolm Gladwell asks and answers in BLINK. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, examining case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the New Coke, Gladwell shows how the difference between good decision making and bad has nothing to do with how much information we can process quickly, but rather with the few particular details on which we focus. BLINK displays all of the brilliance that has made Malcolm Gladwell's journalism so popular and his books such perennial bestsellers as it reveals how all of us can become better decision makers--in our homes, our offices, and in everyday life.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Specifications

Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of "thin slices" of behavior. The key is to rely on our "adaptive unconscious"--a 24/7 mental valet--that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea.

Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us "mind blind," focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to "the Warren Harding Effect" (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the "dark side of blink," he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making. In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell's ideas about what Blink Camp might look like. --Barbara Mackoff

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