Pearls of wisdom from Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell was in Hong Kong at an interesting time. Here to address a crowd at the Barclays Asia Forum, he had been fascinated by the view from his hotel room of umbrella movement tents.

"I can't comment on the exact issues [of the protest] because I simply don't know about it well enough," says the Canadian author and journalist.

"But I'm drawn to anyone who is agitating a path to democracy. So in a broad sense, I'm in sympathy."

Gladwell was curious, however, about "the decision to just let the protesters be", on the ground. "I wonder, whether on some Machiavellian level, if you are in a position of power, if that isn't the best way to preserve the status quo," he says.

That links to an issue that's been on Gladwell's mind a lot lately: how people in power deal with dissent in society. Global headlines hammer the point home well enough, but the author's interest focuses on "the matter of tactic" rather than politics.

"For example: if America had a very different response to the terrorists' provocations of 15 years ago, would it be better off?"

Author of The Tipping Point (2000), Blink (2005), Outliers (2008), What the Dog Saw (2009) and David and Goliath (2013), Gladwell was in Hong Kong to impart unconventional pearls of wisdom to bankers, industry leaders and financial heads at a time when industry status quos are being challenged.