The Dip (When to Quit and When to Stick) [ABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

~ Seth Godin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The old saying is wrongwinners 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 pointreally 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 Dipa 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 guiltuntil 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 Dipthey get to the moment of truth and then give upor 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 quitso 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.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Do You Zoom! Inc. (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979433703
• ISBN-13: 978-0979433702
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #835,989 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Giving Up, May 3, 2009

By	John D. Carmack - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The opening of The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin goes like this:

"I feel like giving up.

"Almost every day, in fact. Not all day, of course, but there are moments."

~ p 3

Thus, I was immediately drawn in.

For a high-level philosophical viewpoint, I think Godin gets his point across quite well. For a low-level practical standpoint, though, I'm not so sure.

However, since it is a high-level look, it can apply in so many areas. It can apply personally or corporately. It can apply to marketing, general management, IT, or any area where you might have a goal. It can apply to a corporate strategy or a career path.

Godin outlines 3 types of obstacles:

1. The dip. This is what separates the experts from the amateurs. It takes resources to cross the dip, to get back up the hill and succeed.

2. The cul-de-sac. This can also be called the "dead end". No amount of effort is going to get you where you want in this space.

3. The cliff. You climb up and up, but then you suddenly crash. A disaster is the result.

I think we can all think of examples of these. Godin gives the example of passing organic chemistry as the dip for pre-med students. Getting past HR might be a dip for a job seeker. A dead-end job is a cul-de-sac. Cigarette smoking is a cliff. You puff along and puff along, and all of a sudden you're dealing with a life debilitating disease like emphysema.

Basically, his advice seems to be that as long as it is worth doing, it is a dip. If it is not worth doing, then it is a cul-de-sac. If it is a dip, keep persevering. However, one should be more than willing to quit for cul-de-sacs and cliffs.

It's easy enough to say that one should quit if it is a dead-end. Godin tells of people who quit because they did not cross a dip, though. Instead of quitting a cul-de-sac, they quit in a dip. I'm just not convinced that he gave clear enough guidelines to distinguish the 2 in a practical situation.

Throughout the book, Godin argues that diversification takes away energy from other pursuits. It takes resources away from the energy that's needed to overcome the dip.

His analogy breaks of a woodpecker trying a thousand trees instead of sticking to the single tree breaks, though. What if there is no dinner to be found in that particular tree?

The other problem, of course, is that often you have so many options that it can be hard to narrow them down. Sometimes you really do have to experiment with different things and ideas before you find something that works and works well.

To me, it gets even more confusing then, as Godin presents dips as not being concrete objects. They are subject to change.

Microsoft, for example, was able to create a dip by becoming the standard. They themselves overcame dips by persevering with Windows, Word, Excel, etc. They failed a few times before they won. Now, the dip has become much larger for those who follow.

Then, he states that quitting in the dip is a mistake usually based upon short-term concerns. Here I think, then, is what probably is the key to dip vs. cul-de-sac. One is a short-term problem that can be overcome and even changed with effort and insight. The other is long-term and immovable. I really think not stating this concretely and earlier in the book is the book's biggest weakness.

Godin presents a Harvard Medical Degree as an example of sunk-cost. Someone who is studying medicine but cannot stand to cut someone open is probably not going to make a great surgeon.

To me, though, the most valuable part of the book is to write down the circumstances in which you will quit. This really seems to differentiate the dips from the cul-de-sacs. An athlete isn't going to quit because of a bruised knee. A congenital heart condition might be a good reason to quit, though.

It seems appropriate that there isn't a neat bow to tidy things up at the end of the book. Rather, it ends with a lot of questions. These questions should guide you to further thinking on the subject. I'll let you read the book and answer them yourself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't give up!, April 5, 2009

By	Johan Metz - See all my reviews

This deceivingly short title successfully focuses on the common success principle of perseverance. The cover illustrates a typical person's motivation when going at a typical task. At first, when motivation is high, the task seems easy. Then, sometime down the road, before you experience success, you'll find yourself in "the dip," where the difficulty of the task becomes apparent. This is the point where most people quit. Godin encourages one to quit early, if you're going to quit at all--thereby freeing up your time and energy for those things you believe that you can do best.

Godin explains that "the dip" successfully separates you from those that would otherwise be your greatest competition; it also separates you from those already successful in a given endeavor. He briefly discusses the outlier principle, noting that if you wish to distinguish yourself in a particular field that your closest competition will most likely be a distant second (the same is true of you going after an established market leader); in fact those that persevere through the dip and continue with the same effort will find that they separate themselves from the competition in an obvious and distinguishable way.

Contemplating his own principle, the author makes sure that you don't find yourself there (in the dip) while reading his book-- it's only 76 pages, with a few extra pages (a tribute to the best and an acknowledgement).

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Concept, July 27, 2009

By	Barry Smith "www.barryonline.com" (Sacramento) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Godin, as always, brings clarity to leadership. Pushing through the dip helped me in dealing with several close relationships in my life. In fact, it might have saved one of them. I just listened to the 63 minute CD... I got what I needed - but I'm sure the book has even more relevant and effective information. I am more determined than ever to quit more often - and never give up in other areas.