An Essay On Outliers Malcolm Gladwell

Are the various millionaires from the world truly self-made men or is their success a result of a more complex outside source- the environment? In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell analyzes how people achieve success. He stresses the belief that success is obtained by other factors beyond personal characteristics like IQ, work ethic, talent and ambition. To truly understand success, one must go deeper and look at the “hidden” reasons, such as birthdates, hours put in, cultural background and timing. Individuals credit their own success on their merit, but it’s decided on other factors outside their control.

Most people people expect the current United States President and chairmen of The Trump Organization, Donald Trump, to be a self-made

man. Trump made successful investments when he entered the real estate business after taking control of his father’s company, Elizabeth & Son Co.-later on named the Trump Organization. Donald Trump seemed to be unstoppable during the 1980s in his apartment housing investments, but when 1990 came, Trump’s Organization faced bankruptcy due to accumulated debt and the decline of New York’s economy. Trump met with several banks and convinced them to loan him millions of dollars to keep his business out of debt. Trump faced bankruptcy about for times before 1995, when investments he made began working out successfully. From here Trump expanded the company and created the reality TV show, The Apprentice. Trump also ventured into licensing deals, which involved businesses paying to use his name and logo. Trump’s fame and fortune also increased when he released several books, including The Art of the Deal and Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. He believes his success is from his ability to accept fear, along with his positivity and experience, but is his success truly from his on invention? Trump’s success was not based on his own merit, but on environmental reasons.

Malcolm Gladwell analyzes people who have put in the time to reach success and Trump is not one of these people.

In reality, Trump inherited The Trump Organization from his father and did not work elsewhere besides the company. He was raised well off and entitled to inherit money from his father. Due to the successful company his father built, Trump didn’t need to do much. Donald Trump, like the successful partner of Skadden, Arps., Joe Flom, owe their success to their environment. Joe Flom was poor as a child, raised by immigrant garment workers during the depression. Due to discrimination against Jews, when Jewish lawyers looked for jobs during “hiring season” they were rejected due to their antecedents and were pushed to smaller companies. Flom was given the work other firms did not want and mainly worked with proxy fights and litigation. Flom mastered his craft over the course of 10,000 hours and his experience was sought after during the 1970s and 1980s when litigation and hostile takeovers -what old-line law firms discarded- became a high demand skill to have. Flom’s success was already predetermined as a result of the generation he was born in was considerably smaller than the generation before or after it. Being the son of Jewish workers also affected Flom’s success. A lot of Eastern European Jews who immigrated to New York had previously had an occupational skill and had mastered and polished their trade. Many of these Jews established themselves in the rising garment industry and the children who had parents in this industry saw the development of success from hard work. This was an advantage equivalent to having wealthy parents - like Donald Trump. Flom’s success was shaped by the opportunities given to him from his cultural background, and

timing.

The theme of wealth and parental involvement having a direct correlation with success is shown in the difference between Christopher Langan and Robert Oppenheimer. Chris Langan had an IQ of 195 but in the end he had little impact on the world. Robert Oppenheimer on the other hand is famous for assisting in the development of the nuclear bomb during the World War II and he-on account of those around him (parents and teachers)- was a genius. What made Chris Langan ineffective in society was the circumstances he had in childhood and the opportunities that passed him Chris Langan’s family was dirt poor, while Oppenheimer was the child of a successful artist and garment worker. The advantage had been predetermined by their births. Oppenheimer would grow up seeing the success of his parents through a series of obstacles and the use of negotiation. Chris Langan, on the other hand, was raised watching his stepfather, Jake Langan, have drinking sprees, disappear and lose jobs, which created a dysfunctional environment for Chris. Chris Langan grew up never learning the necessary skills needed to help him reach success, while Oppenheimer did learn them and utilized these skills cleverly.

The social view of success is heavily individualistic, which is misconception because no one is self made. Everyone, whether they are naturally talented or just a hard worker, received help in some sort of way whether it be through teachers, mentors, family and friends. Success is not only achieved by special people, but by those who are willing who to sacrifice and work hard.