KEY POINTS:
The sixth instalment in a nzherald.co.nz summer business series about the reading habits of a selection of our prominent businesspeople.
Whether it's an elegant dip in the arms of dance partner David Yeates or the tragic murder of the Kahui twins, this year has been about the tipping point for Christine Rankin.
She recently read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point after seeing he was coming to New Zealand in February as a guest speaker at the Global Leaders Network conference.
Rankin said the idea that radical transformations can begin with a small change occuring at the right time was very powerful.
"I just love it, because for me it's true for every bit of the things I'm interested in at the moment, but particularly with the child abuse work," she said. "It makes you understand that you can't miss an opportunity."
Following the murder of the Kahui twins in June Rankin realised the charity she manages, For the Sake of Our Children, needed to capture their death to raise awareness of child abuse.
"While we've gone silent, look, I'm out there talking to groups and something has changed," she said.
"It's a very powerful thing that's happened and there's big red flashing buttons that need to be pushed right now. Now is the time to turn this around, because they [the Kahui twins] were the tipping point."
Rankin said after 20 months in business the consultancy she runs with her son Matthew has gained momentum and has also reached that tipping point.
"Suddenly you get lots and lots of work and you know that all the things you've been building in terms of that business are starting to hit home."
She said the message in The Tipping Point has come at a time when it holds a lot of meaning for her.
"So I'm very inspired by it - I feel great. In both parts of my work it's really pushed me forward and it's made me feel very excited about next year. I wasn't anticipating that at the end of a very busy year."
And don't be fooled into thinking Rankin has been having a cup of tea and a lie down over the Christmas break.
"I don't feel like having a lie down now, I feel like going out an making sure we don't miss this particular tipping point for either my business or for the charity."
* Former Work and Income chief executive Christine Rankin runs Rankin Group, an executive coaching consultancy. She is chief executive of For the Sake of Our Children Trust, campaigning against the neglect and abuse of children.
Rankin has also taken a sequined spin around the dancefloor of hit TV show Dancing with the Stars.
Recommends: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. by Malcolm Gladwell
