Seth Godin on The Dip

Seth Godin spoke today at a teleseminar for Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid blog subscribers about his new book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick).  As most of you know, Seth is a well-respected author of 9 books on marketing and business culture, including Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable and Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, as well as a successful blogger. 

Seth's new book explores "the dip" - a period of difficulty in business when most people quit.  While Seth does not agree that quitting is necessarily a bad thing (we do it all the time but do not often talk about it), he does state that quitting when things are hard instead of when it is strategic to do so is wrong. 

Take a medical student, for instance.  Going through pre-med is a great thing.  The family is proud, and optimism for the future is good.  Then comes organic chemistry, where many pre-med students drop out.  This is "the dip."  Making it through organic chemistry means you have outlasted much of your competition and you are well on your way to becoming a doctor.  Quitting at this juncture means that you have wasted all your time before now because you did not foresee "the dip" and how to get through it.  Anticipating the dip and having a plan for it is the key to making it through to the other side, where you will likely be more successful than your competition because of your experience.

How do you know if you are in a dip or a dead end?  Seth defines the dip as a period of difficulty in any business that wipes out most of the competition, and that if you do not know what this dip is, you are wise not to go into that business.  You must see the curve ahead, whether it is from people who have gone in business before you or through your own research.  A dead end, on the other hand, is the "same old, same old."  You do not envision things getting better or worse, just more of the same.  You really are not going anywhere and will not be going anywhere.  This is the time to quit and use your resources for something bigger and more remarkable for you and your clients.

A famous strategic "quit" that Seth talks about is Enzo Ferrari, who worked for Alfa Romeo for many years.  He could have stayed there for the rest of his career, but he would not have been able to accomplish his goals (a "dead end").  He left Alfa Romeo when he was nearly 50 years old (remarkable in 1940) to start his own car company, Ferrari.  Because he built a specialized car for a very specific market, he was wildly successful.  Other car companies build cars and hope people will buy them.  Ferrari builds a specific number of high-end cars and people hope they can be one of lucky few to buy one.  This is a great example of quitting to pursue something bigger and more remarkable for you and your clients.  The situation could be much less extreme, though just as valuable, if you talk about quitting a particular strategy or product line within your existing business.

Once you get to the other side of the dip, such establishing yourself as the most knowledgeable and successful Realtor(R) in your area, you will spend less time promoting yourself and more time working on becoming better at your job.  Your customers will do much of the promotion for you.  

One last thought is that being well-rounded is overrated.  Sure, we all want to be good at what we do, but we can't be good at everything.  Do you really care if your CPA is an excellent driver?  Of course not.  You care that she gets your taxes done correctly and saves you as much money as possible.  The same thing holds true for a business endeavor.  Be really good at your core business.  (Hire a virtual assistant for the rest.) 

Seth's new book will be in stores on May 10, though you can purchase the CD from Barnes and Noble now for $5.  For more information on Seth Godin and his marketing and business culture ideas, go to Seth's blog.  To read what others are saying about this book, see Guy Kawasaki's review.