I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book—Revenge of the Tipping Point. I’ve been struck by how clearly the ideas in the book can be used to explain what’s happening in the corporate world right now—particularly in how businesses are handling layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and AI adoption.
Gladwell reprises his initial seminal best-seller—The Tipping Point—25 years after its publication. The concept of a “tipping point” in that first book was used to explain how good ideas, innovations, and behaviors can suddenly go viral and transform entire systems. But in Revenge of the Tipping Point, he shows how the same mechanics can work in reverse—how harmful, short-sighted, or destructive practices can spread just as fast, and with just as much force.
He shows how destructive behaviors—such as bank robberies, vaccine hesitancy, school shootings, hoarding during crises, bullying, and even distrust in institutions—can spread through social contagion, reaching tipping points where they become normalized and self-reinforcing across communities and cultures.
RESEARCH, CASE STUDIES, AND MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD
If you’ve read any of my previous work, you’ll know I’m drawn to research, case studies, and frameworks that help us make sense of the world—so we can understand it more deeply and develop strategies to drive meaningful, positive change.
I used Game Theory to understand the current U.S. defection from globalization, differences in brain structures to understand people leaning more politically conservative versus liberal, brain hemispheric specialization to understand individuals, civilizations, and even my own neurologic journey, bully behavior to understand the actions of corporate leaders and leaders of governments, free markets, competition, and capitalism to understand how far current corporate leaders and leaders of governments are straying in their actions from the systems they otherwise champion, and careless leaders to understand how leaders can stray from even basic ethics and integrity.
UNDERSTANDING THE ACTIONS OF CORPORATIONS
Let’s explore three phenomena in the corporate world that I think illustrate the central thesis of and the framework expressed in Gladwell’s Revenge of the Tipping Point.
LAYOFFS
A few major players—Meta, Amazon, Google—cut tens of thousands of roles. Then others followed. Not because they had to, but because it had become normalized. Even profitable companies jumped on board. What began as a targeted response to market uncertainty quickly morphed into a trend, then into a reflex. It became a narrative: cutting staff is the expected first move for leadership facing short-term financial pressures. Boards rewarded it. Shareholders applauded it. Companies that didn’t follow suit worried they’d appear inefficient or complacent. The fear was contagious—and shared by boards and investors alike. What was largely missing from the equation was the human cost: careers disrupted, lives upended, futures destabilized. That reality was quietly reframed as acceptable collateral damage in the relentless pursuit of efficiency.
RETURN TO THE OFFICE MANDATES
The same pattern holds true for return-to-office mandates. One or two influential companies announced they were bringing everyone back, justifying the decision with familiar language around collaboration, innovation, and culture. Others quickly followed—not because the data supported it, but because it projected decisiveness and control. This, despite a growing body of evidence showing that remote and hybrid work not only sustain productivity but often enhance it. Employees had found new rhythms, rebalanced their lives, and continued to deliver. Yet many are now being pulled back under rigid office policies that feel arbitrary and out of sync with reality. What we’re witnessing isn’t a strategic shift grounded in what’s best for organizations or their people—it’s a reassertion of old norms, fueled by hierarchy and habit. Once again, it’s Gladwell’s contagion effect at play: if others are doing it, it becomes the default move—even when it erodes trust, morale, and the very culture it’s supposed to protect.
AI ADOPTION
Now, we’re seeing the same tipping point forming with AI. Shopify’s CEO recently instructed employees that they must prove AI can’t do a job before requesting to hire a new person. It’s a striking reversal of the traditional hiring mindset—assuming a machine can do the work unless proven otherwise. And Shopify isn’t alone. Across industries, companies are rapidly adopting generative AI not just to augment human work, but to eliminate roles entirely. In many cases, these decisions are made without deep consideration of the longer-term consequences like the erosion of workplace culture, the suppression of creativity, the displacement of skilled professionals, and the broader societal impacts. Once again, it’s Gladwell’s concept of contagion. When influential players normalize a behavior—even one as drastic as replacing humans with machines—others feel compelled to follow suit. It becomes less about strategic transformation and more about keeping up with other leaders. And just like the layoff wave, it’s being driven as much by perception and peer pressure as by necessity or ethics.
IMPACT OF THESE CONTAGIONS
These three trends—layoffs, forced return-to-office mandates, and AI replacing workers—have something important in common: They’ve tipped in a Gladwell sense. Not because they’re wise, but because they’ve been imitated, amplified, and normalized.
They also share another quality: they all devalue employees. They treat humans as manipulatable and expendable. And they create a work culture where fear, control, and short-term metrics override trust, autonomy, and long-term wellbeing.
As I wrote previously, over 220 million LinkedIn users—more than 21% of the platform—have marked themselves as "Open to Work." That’s not just a data point. That’s a disastrous result of contagion inspired corporate leader actions.
The persona of a corporate leader that has been normalized is one who somewhat mechanistically focusses on productivity, cost reduction, and shareholder value while ignoring human qualities of empathy with employees, fostering a good corporate culture, and having people leadership skills. Interestingly, some have argued that leaders like this could easily be replaced by AI robots.
We need some countervailing initiatives to inspire positive contagion.
HOW CAN WE IMMUNIZE AGAINST THESE CONTAGIONS
As mass layoffs, rigid return-to-office mandates, and the unchecked replacement of human workers with AI continue to accelerate, the need for a countervailing force has never been more urgent. That’s why I’m forming a new volunteer group—focused on inspiring a more just, employee-centered, and equitable world of work. Rather than accepting these trends as inevitable, we’ll use research, design, and storytelling to challenge harmful norms and spark meaningful change. This new initiative will join our existing Habits for a Better World teams—a global collective of over 300 researchers, designers, and filmmakers already working to drive large-scale impact.
I’m deeply grateful to those who have already reached out to be part of this growing movement. If this resonates with you, I invite you to DM me on LinkedIn. Let’s lean into the power of agency, collective action, and creativity—and help shape a future that truly puts people first.