Malcolm Gladwell Draws a Crowd, a Conclusion

'More tweaking, less innovating'

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     New Yorker staff writer Malcolm Gladwell drew huge crowds Monday morning, filling up two large auditoriums at the Palais for his keynote address, sponsored by Kraft Foods. Weaving together a comparison of military innovations in the Soviet Union, the United States, and Israel with the story of Steve Jobs' famous visit to Xerox Park—and a fierce, evangelical confidence in the validity of his ideas—Gladwell attempted to convince the audience that it was not innovators but “tweakers and implementers” who turn great ideas into successful businesses.

     Steve Jobs had become successful not by being early but by being late, by adapting the ideas of others to benefit consumers, Gladwell said.

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