The Peter Drucker of the 21st century?

"Momentary autism."  It is one of the new terms that Malcolm Gladwell has introduced to aid in understanding the ways in which people make decisions in different -- and difficult -- situations.  He just used it as he walked the audience through the nanodecisions that misled four New York cops into thinking the innocent Guinean immigrant was an armed criminal, resulting in 41 shots, 19 to the chest.

It is a term Gladwell introduced to the group only moments earlier when describing what happens when our ability to read people's intentions is paralyzed in high-stress situations. Cocking his hands back in a gunlike position, he had explained in a tone that was part sociologist, part Shakespearean actor, how the cops misread a "terrified" black man for a "terrifying" black man. "They didn't correctly understand his intentions in that moment, and as a result they completely misinterpreted what that social situation was all about," he said. "I call this kind of failure 'momentary autism.' " It's only one of many neatly packaged catchphrases Gladwell sprinkles throughout his new book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Little, Brown, January 2005). There's "rapid cognition," "thin-slicing," and the "Warren Harding error," but "momentary autism" is the one that you can quickly imagine this woman [who asked him a question] using, explaining to her boss why she froze during the new business pitch.

He's on the cover of Fast Company magazine; he's on Accenture's list of the top 50 business gurus in the country; he is in demand for speaking engagements; his book, The Tipping Point, is required reading in MBA programs; his articles in the New Yorker are required reading for anyone who wants to appear to be current.  Here's a quick summary:

Gladwell made the leap from generalist staff writer at The New Yorker to marketing god. Since then, Gladwell has oscillated between pen and mike, balancing lengthy New Yorker articles with roughly 25 speaking gigs a year, his current going rate some $40,000 per appearance. Last year, he spoke at such highbrow conferences as TED and Pop!Tech and was invited to share his wisdom at companies including Genentech, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Hewlett-Packard. His New Yorker articles have become required reading for B-school students. The Tipping Point  spent 28 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and more than two years on Business Week's, and today there are almost 800,000 copies of Gladwell's trend-mapping bible in print.

His new book, Blink, is already on Amazon's best seller list and it isn't even out yet.  Read this fascinating article on why he is considered to be one of the "thinkers" who are providing insights into human nature that are some of the most fundamental and influential in years.