The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) [Hardcover]

Seth Godin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yet another easily digestible social marketplace commentary from the blogger/author who penned Purple Cow and Small is the New Big, Godin prescribes a cleverly counter-intuitive way to approach one's potential for success. Smart, honest, and refreshingly free of self-help posturing, this primer on winning-through-quitting is at once motivational and comically indifferent, making the lofty goal of "becoming the best in the world" an achievable proposition-all you need is to "start doing some quitting." The secret to "strategic quitting" is seeking, understanding and embracing "the Dip," "the long slog between starting and mastery" in which those without the determination or will find themselves burning out. As such, Godin demonstrates how to identify and quit your "Cul-de-Sac" and "Cliff" situations, in which no amount of work will lead to success. Godin provides tips for finding your Dip, taking advantage of it and becoming one of the few (inevitably valuable) players to emerge on the other side; he also provides guidelines for quitting with confidence. Quick, hilarious and happily irreverent, Godin's truth-that "we fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit"-makes excellent sense of an often-difficult career move.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

The old saying is wrong-winners do quit, and quitters do win.

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point-really hard, and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip-a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt-until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you'll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip-they get to the moment of truth and then give up-or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.

Whether you're a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you're in a Dip that's worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit-so you can be number one at something else.

Seth Godin doesn't claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591841666
• ISBN-13: 978-1591841661
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #11 in	Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Motivation & Self-Improvement
  #9 in	Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Time Management
  #36 in	Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Human Resources & Personnel Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

295 of 334 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Book (for the person who needs to be told the obvious), May 22, 2007

By	Robert Schmidt (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (Hardcover)

The Dip, by Seth Godin, is a very small book (80 pages) that says, in short:


- Winners quit (regroup. cut their losses, switch gears) whenever necessary on the path to winning.

- Be the best, and the world comes knocking at your door.

- Work through the pain, because the reward is waiting for you further down the road.


If any of these comments/suggestions seem unclear, take at look at The Dip.

If you understand already, you've just saved $12.95.


This is not a "how-to" book. It is meant to be a motivational piece of writing. Work hard... the financial rewards are greatest for the hardest worker. Work through "the dip," or that period where the gains don't seem to be coming as quickly as you'd like. Don't stop running the marathon at mile 25.

Look, the very successful don't read these books. The barely successful can't read these books. So it is written for the somewhat successful, or the person who is looking for "something" else. Here's the shortened version: "Work and study hard. Don't give up. Persevere. However, consider alternatives. Share this book with others."

Don't get me wrong... this is not, in any sense, a bad book, or a book giving bad advice. To me, the advice seems pretty obvious.

Work hard, play hard, and be well.

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple prescription (too simple?), September 6, 2007

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (Hardcover)

Much of Godin's advice makes sense, although it's not especially original. Know when you're going to quit and have an exit strategy. Don't get stuck in a cul-de-sac: a dead end.

Those who focus on a market or skill do reap greater rewards than those who generalize. Among scholars, picking a tiny slice and expanding will reap big rewards. Remove distractions from your life.

Godin's power curves are very convincing. There is a huge difference between Number 1 and Number 2 when you look at ice cream flavors and box office sales. But sometimes a decision to rank lower can be strategic. Some gurus advise against aiming to be Number 1 or 2 on a search engine, because you'll get more tire-kicking clicks.

Much of Godin's advice makes sense for individual as well as corporate career planning. Most careers have dips. Many people find themselves in cul de sacs. What he calls "the cliff" resembles a comfort zone: "The longer you do it, the harder to quit." As a career consultant, I think the cliff is far more common than Godin suggests.

Two problems with this book:
(1) In real life, it's often hard to distinguish between a cul de sac and a dip and careers often morph from one to the other without warning.

In fact, the book's examples inadvertently demonstrate this ambiguity. On page 38, Godin suggests that the helpful mailroom clerk might rise to CEO. On page 62, Doug gets branded because he's been with the company too long: everyone remembers when he started.

We should note that Jeffrey Pfeffer's book, What Were They Thinking, actually contradicts Godin's tips on pages 38-39: Pfeffer suggests that CEO wannabes *not* suck it up but instead stand out. He argues that the behaviors needed to climb to the top are not those needed to succeed once you've arrived, specifically adding that climbers tend to be disliked by their peers along the way.

(2) I almost stopped reading when I read about Hannah, the law student who became a Supreme Court justice presumably because she worked hard and stayed focused. On page 8, Godin writes that any of 42,000 law graduates could have become Supreme Court justices. Hannah worked hard and made sacrifices to reach this goal.

This statement is simply not accurate. A simple Internet search would have revealed the fact that nearly all Supreme Court clerks tend to come from the top 5 or 6 law schools. As recently as 1998, journalists reported that few women and even fewer minorities were chosen. I suspect age makes a difference as well.

(3) This book is a pithy prescription, deliberately simple so as not to obscure the message. But are we better off when those who want to succeed have to jump through artificial hoops? Do the hoops really encourage the best and the brightest? For example, many experts suggest that education courses discourage many potential teachers, who turn to other fields.

Finally, there really is no happily ever after. Sometimes you can work hard, do everything right and get caught up in mergers and events that are completely unrelated to your performance. Other times you make a casual, easy choice because it sounds like fun and you reap major rewards.

124 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Godin is the master communicator of the obvious., May 27, 2007

By	M. Shuff (NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (Hardcover)

OK, I keep buying Godin's books expecting more. But, all I get is content that seems like a well constructed blog posting. Seth is a very good writer and communicator, but this book added zero to my life. It is a very short book about quitting stuff you're not good at and sticking with (or starting) things you're not good at. Life is short. The longer you dwell in mediocrity, the longer it will take you to become exceptional. Contrary to the book's claim, it doesn't really teach you WHEN to quit or when to stick...other than when the goal is worthwhile. Such an examination takes more than just reading some words. There is very little thought-provoking content here. It seems like a summarized rip-off of Marcus Buckhingham and the "strengths" books...which are excellent and unlike this book...may change your life. Godin is well respected in marketing, but how many more collections of blogs (small is the new big), other people's works (purple cow), and short discourses about the obvious can he keep putting out? It's like people who compile ezines.