“Listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” Thanks to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, most of us know the story of Paul Revere riding to warn the colonists that the British troops were beginning their invasion of the American colonies. In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell tells us that Paul Revere was not the only one making that midnight ride.
From time to time, I will share with you the things I read. I plan to keep these posts short, so these will typically cover just a portion of the book or articles. For that reason, you may see the same books or articles covered in multiple posts.
Gladwell spends a chapter of the book working to explain why we all know about Paul Revere but so few of us know about William Dawes, who made the same ride with the same message but in a different direction.
Paul Revere had a variety of interests that kept him engaged with people throughout the colonies. He helped to bring streetlights to Boston. He was the clerk for the Boston Market, the health officer for Boston, and a coroner for Suffolk County. He served as a community organizer when he helped found the Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association and the initial charter committee for the City of Boston. While the American Revolution was still just a tinder box, he carried messages throughout New England. This guy was everywhere, and everyone had counted on him for something at one time or another.
William Dawes, on the other hand, was involved just enough to be given the chance to carry the message. Outside of Boston, no one really knew he was, and, more importantly, he didn’t know anyone outside of Boston.
Gladwell argues that Paul Revere was a “Connector” who knew all of the community leaders outside of Boston, which is what made his ride more impactful than William Dawes’. A “Connector” is a person with an extensive network of social connections and plays a significant role in spreading ideas and information.
We all know those people who are natural Connectors, and many of us wish we could be as well connected as those people. The trick is to develop what sociologist Mark Granovetter calls “weak ties.” Those are connections to people who you may have only met briefly or in passing, particularly in a different profession, lifestyle, religion, or culture than your own. Connectors are the people who always seem to be able to call someone when they are outside of their own expertise or capabilities.
Typically, Connectors call “Mavens,” individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise that particularly enjoy sharing that knowledge with others. They are the people who always know about the new restaurant opening in town or the people who always know exactly which laptop you should buy to meet your own particular needs.
Where the scales tip is when a Maven leverages a Connector to contact a “Salesman.” Those are the people we might call Influencers today. They are the people who can take the information and inspire large groups of people to engage. In this scenario, the person hanging the lanterns (one if by land, two if by sea) would have been a version of the Maven. We know that Paul Revere was the Connector, and the leaders of the local militia were the Salesmen. Because William Dawes’ wasn’t a successful Connector, he never found the Salesmen.
If you want to learn more about the idea, check out The Tipping Point. If you want to learn how to be a more successful Connector, take a look at