David And Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits

Great Essays
Introduction and Summary
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants debunks all the clichés attributed to the underdogs and giants. On the back drop of the biblical story of the mighty tumble of the warrior Goliath by the meek shepherd boy David, Malcom Gladwell breaks down how people misunderstand the true meaning of advantage and privilege.
Gladwell brings in fresh perspective and debunks all the myths and the rationale we assign to the so-called ‘clear winners’, or the Goliaths, in our lives. Citing examples of the impoverished, the dyslexic, and the victims of childhood trauma for example, he explains how these factors play motivators more than deterrents for the Davids . He talks about how potential weaknesses can be strengths. For the Goliaths, however, Gladwell says that the apparent ‘strengths’ that we think they have aren’t always a good thing, and too much of an advantage can actually be a disadvantage. The book provokes deep introspection about how challenges and winning is perceived.

Statement of Objectives of the Study
Purpose: To read and understand the how the applications of Individual Development and Leadership in a book of choice
…show more content…
And upon the completion of the individual review, we discussed and studied our observations and learnings. Our findings have been coalesced in this report.

Chapter Wise Summary
David and Goliath:
In the context of the ancient story of David and Goliath , Malcom Gladwell opens discussion with the detailed account of what happened the night that the underdog defeated the giant.
Gladwell elaborates saying that what seemed to people as Goliath’s superhuman strength and advantages weren’t necessarily advantages. He tries to open the discussion with a different perspective citing that the powerful and strong to not always as privileged as they seem to be.

Chapter 1: Vivek

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    The Leadership Challenge The Leadership Challenge book provides great perception on ways to become a better leader. The author will review lessons learned from the first three chapters and provide insight on how some of the leadership qualities have been displayed in her life. When Leaders Are at Their Best At the start of The Leadership Challenge book in the first chapter, it discusses a success leadership story that generates thought into what the author has done in her own past and what can be done from here on out to create a high level of leadership success.…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf - Achilles and Hector Today, most heroes is movies are successful. Why does everyone watch the heroic movies? Movies are made in order to satisfy people’s urge, deviate from everyday life. In the movies, characters have supernatural power and experience unusual incidents that people cannot have; it gratifies their desire.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Human beings are prideful creatures by nature- some, more prideful than others. Pride is a great characteristic to carry throughout life, but when one becomes too prideful it is an almost detrimental trait. This is the case in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The protagonist, King Gilgamesh, pushes the boundaries of pride constantly throughout the epic. Gilgamesh is the prime example of pride as a human problem and the consequences behind it.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Malcolm Gladwell’s non-fictional book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants he carefully utilizes anecdotes, studies, charts, and research to analyze, “...What happens when ordinary people confront giants” (Gladwell 5). He takes the original Biblical story of David and Goliath and breaks down each side to certain advantages and disadvantages. Anyone who knows this story may make the mistake of assuming that this story's about the weak beating the powerful. The vulnerable one in this case will be Goliath, a slow, stagarring, and half blind giant (14). A common theme can be followed throughout his book, where the strong giants are often surprisingly weak and those who seem to be weak underdogs turn out to be…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout history epic battles between hero’s and villains have been told and reconstructed. The “good guy” or the hero, always beats the “bad guy” the villain, and they are traditionally two separate beings. Yet, now day it is becoming more and more common for the hero and villain war to be found in the same individual. As the world gets more corrupt, and as evils more easily finds its way to the common people, the battle now resides within those individuals. Within each individual there is a constant battle between hero and villain and it is up to them to decide which will prevail; the hero destined for greatness or the villain doomed to fail.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Some find emptiness, frailty, even dark, impulses. But others find wondrous virtues - courage, resourcefulness, self- sacrifice, daring, ingenuity, the will to solider on when will is all they have left. These are the virtues that turn history, and these are the virtues that enable individuals to prevail in the supreme trials of their lives. It is in times of superlative hardship that individuals live their epic adventures, stories that trill, fascinate, inspire and illuminate” (Hillenbrand…

    • 2142 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The term “underdog” is viewed by many as a team, group, or individual who has a little to no chance of benefitting from or winning a situation. However, these “underdogs” often times find a way to win or be the ones who benefit from a particular situation. The “giants” that they face often times are overrated or as Gladwell says, “are not what we think they are”. Throughout Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath he shows how the underdogs use their situation to their benefit and how the giants or favorites are actually at a disadvantage. He supports his claim and uses evidence from various examples including education, civil rights, sports, crime rates, and bombings.…

    • 1859 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Journey of Gilgamesh The oldest piece of literature in the world today has transcended time. The main character of Gilgamesh reflects a journey that we must all make in life, learning we will not live forever. This lesson transforms Gilgamesh from a tyrannical leader to a humble king. Gilgamesh undergoes this transformation through a hero's journey.…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On a winding path, through the treacherous winds, the blazing storm tears at the soul of anyone who dares to walk the path .A hero rises to the quest before them and endures the challenges that grapples at them throughout the journey that builds their character to become the hero she or he is meant to be. A journey therefore is a quest.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Epic of Gilgamesh narrates the story of the mighty king Gilgamesh and his military conquests. The aggrandizement of military authority fuels Gilgamesh’s pride and leads him to pursue nearly impossible quests. This story exemplifies the exaltation of military leadership within ancient societies throughout the world. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh represents many other characteristics of this time period such as patriarchy and the anxieties of the agro-urban revolution, this story definitively proves the exaltation of military leadership. Throughout this paper I will use textual evidence and interpretations from the story to explain and prove that military leadership played a great importance within this ancient society.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the amazing poem “Casey at the Bat” and the wise story of “ David and Goliath “, a connection of differences and similarities. In other words ,many similarities occur throughout both story and poem , one of the most noticeable similarity is that both tough guys , really are not afraid to fail or anything in their path . In addition ,what I mean by this is that in the story “Casey at the Bat” Casey is so confident which means he knows he is good, that if he fails the world will not care about what he has done to the team, then comes the “David and Goliath”, which Goliath knew he was the best soldier in his army. Therefore he wanted to fight another good soldier, he knew he was gonna when so why fear losing.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Power is the defining force in The Epic of Gilgamesh, but power comes in varying forms. In this essay, I will discuss the emphasis of power, how power is obtained, and the distinction of power in male and female characters and through this, it’s evident male power dominates due to Gilgamesh’s power as a king and his ability to defeat a god. The importance of power is what drives the tale of Gilgamesh. His desire for control over the people outside and within his country leads Gilgamesh on his heroic journey. Along the way, Gilgamesh meets others who rival Gilgamesh’s power.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The main idea of the book I choose the book “Act like a leader, think like a leader, by Herminia Ibarra, which is inspirational read for everyone who has a passion for leading. Ibarra, redefines the traditional leadership notion of “think first, and then act’’ by acting first and then thinking. She described The “Outsight Principle” which is the mine idea of this book. Through the implementation of the “outsight principle”, Ibarra believes that one can improve or develop into an effective leader. This principle attests that the only way to think like a leader is to first act it out and that is to come out of ones’ comfort zone by start doing changes and more experiences.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This type of leadership style encourages creativity, and the team members are often engaged in the projects and decision. There are many benefits to having a democratic leadership style. Team members tend to have high job satisfaction and are productive because they're more involved in decisions. Team members are often motivated from this type of leadership style. The downside of democratic leadership is that it can often hinder situations where speed or efficiency is essential.…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    INTRODUCTION Hospital admission is a stressful experience that can happen to anyone at any point in one’s life. The stress is amplified when hospitalizations occur to pediatric patients who will undergo a new environment at that point, and will be experiencing painful procedures. The cause of distress during hospitalization differs among individuals, more so for pediatric patients. The discomfort felt by these pediatric patients can be traced to the pain they experience and of which they do not have a full understanding of.…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays