The art & science of the underdog

July 12, 2012 — David & Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, underdogs, Winning

Great news for underdogs. A forthcoming book by Malcolm Gladwell suggests that underdogs win much more often than you would expect. An analysis of battles fought over the past 400 years involving nations that were ten times bigger than their opponents showed that they won 66% of the time. In other words its possible to beat someone ten times bigger than you 1 in 3 times.

That goes for sport, invention, business and pretty much anything. Winning underdogs do three things: give maximum effort; out-think the opposition; and refuse to engage on their opponents terms by going about things unconventionally.

Don’t let the Goliath’s get you down.

Have a curious day.

David & Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell will be published in the second half of 2012.