Reading The Dip by Seth Godin
“A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner.”
This short book by Seth Godin teaches when to quit and when to stick.
Quitting as a Strategy
Seth walks us through the idea of quitting, a strategy he recommends for anyone interested in becoming exceptional in what they do. Rather than accept to be mediocre, he proposes quitting dead ends (Cul-de-Sacs) that you may be idling your way through; and rather investing the resources where you have the most chance of success. When you quit dead ends, you free up resources for other things.
He acknowledges that quitting when you hit a Cul-de-Sac requires gut. There is no reason to keep investing in something that is not going to get better, something you don’t care about or you’re mediocre/average at. Many people are not able to quit when they should because they are wired to believe and think that quitting is a moral failing. They find it easier to stay mediocre than cancel. A better way to look at quitting is acknowledging that a venture is really leading nowhere and one must then channel the resources to other potentials.
Seth uses 3 curves to describe the three possible scenarios that require the conscious decision to stick or to quit.
Curve 1 — The Dip: This curve has a stretch of time (a dip) along the journey where a significant amount of effort is required in order to make it to the other side — mastery, exceptional success, or proficiency. It is the stretch before your real accomplishment. It’s the hard work in-between when you’re a beginner and full of excitement about a new initiative and when you become the best. The dip is a barrier to entry like qualification exams for professionals. It’s the incredibly difficult challenges that give you the opportunity to pull ahead.
Curve 2 — The Cul-de-Sac: This is French for a dead-end. It is when you keep working but nothing changes. It does not get better or worst but keeps you sufficiently busy.
Curve 3 — The Cliff: This is when you cannot quit until you fall off or things fall apart. It feeds you with little bits of improvement until it trips you up.
The guiding principle here is to embrace the dip and stick through it, quit the cul-de-sac, and avoid the cliff.
Embracing the Dip
He teaches us to embrace the dip and realize that without the dip — difficult situations or challenges — there would be no reward, growth, or progress. The dip is an opportunity and we ought to recognize and treat it as such.
The dip is not where you quit as quitting when you hit the dip will make a waste of all the resources you have invested. As he puts it, “quitting in the dip isn’t worth the journey.” If you can get through the dip, if you do not quit when the system expects you to then you will achieve extraordinary results.
TIP: When you feel like quitting, remind yourself of the long-term benefits of not quitting. This is why you must have a clear picture of the potential benefits of an opportunity before jumping in.
It is important to note that one must be smart about identifying which activities you’re investing resources in qualifies as a dip or a cul-de-sac.
On Diversification
Seth questions the idea of diversifying. People tend to dispense energy trying out a bunch of different things hoping one would click. Why spread yourself thin when you can narrow down and focus in an area, gain mastery, and excel?
When you spread your resources too thin you may end up squandering them. For instance, if you enter a market that is too big or loud for the resources available at your disposal, your message will get lost. In his words, “a woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner.”
Switching from here to there is going to cost a lot of time because you’d keep starting over and all the initial efforts and resources invested become vain. Starting up is thrilling, an idea is exciting at the beginning until one gets to the dip, until one experiences challenges that will test their willpower and persistence. Interestingly for many pursuits, one must get through the dip before it starts paying off.
Getting through the dip speaks about consistency, paying your dues, showing up, being strategic until you get exceptional results.
So how and when do you quit?
Don’t quit out of panic or impulsively. Quit strategically. It is better to have a quitting plan (metrics) right at the start to be sure one stays logical. The idea is to quit if you know you’re not able to get through the dip in an exceptional way.
- Quit strategically — lay out a quitting plan right from the beginning.
- Quit when the reward at the end of the tunnel is not worth it.
- Quit when there is no great long-term potential.
- Quit projects that don’t go anywhere so you can channel the energy and resources to the right ones.
- Quit when you’re merely coping when you’re at dead-ends.
Average or Exceptional?
Everyone wants the best. So when you play, play to win, to be the best, not average. Coping never leads to exceptional performance. Visualize the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can’t see it but most importantly, be realistic about not imagining light when there isn’t any.
“Don’t settle for mediocre because you’re coping with too many things on your agenda. You really can’t try to do everything especially if you intend to be the best in the world.”
My name is Gloria Aniekan and I love sharing simple, concise summaries of some of the books I enjoy reading. Connect with me on LinkedIn on Instagram.
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