Story-study-story-study structure

What’s the secret to writing like Malcolm Gladwell?
It’s a puzzle that has consumed a generation of nonfiction writers. Ever since Gladwell’s first book, The Tipping Point, debuted on the New York Times best-seller list in 2000, where it resided for a staggering four hundred weeks, countless writers across a range of disciplines have attempted to crack the code. Certain patterns are obvious. There is the story-study-story-study structure that is now a fixture of popular nonfiction, the novelistic flair used to bring central characters to life, and the sticky simplicity with which complex ideas are communicated, transformed from lifeless data into irresistible dinner party ammunition.

Excerpt From: Ron Friedman. “Decoding Greatness.”