Last night I re-read Seth Godin’s book, The Dip. I read it when it first came out last summer and really enjoyed it. The premise is that anything worth doing is going to have a “dip” or time when things get rough and you’ve got to stick it out. Just as important though is that you need to know when to quit. Yes quit! Quit things that are basically dead ends.
Of course Seth is a marketer, wait, the marketer, so he talks about how this concept applies in business. He also gives examples that apply to personal relationships, hobbies, and for-impact (charitable) groups. Related to this last area, Marc Pitman wrote an excellent 3 part series inspired by the book starting with Fundraising in the Dip.
What brought me to review the book again though is that I’ve been in one big dip for the past few months. Primarily in regard to my business, but it’s funny how our attitude about work spills over into other aspects of life.
It’s taken quite a bit of soul searching and some business deals to show success (or not pan out) to finally see that that an end is in sight. Actually to finally be able to see period. Ever been in the middle of a tough situation and feel like your blind to a solution?
Thankfully now I know which direction to take on some of these projects and which to get rid of. Of course I’m not quitting everything, just the right things. As Godin says,”Quitting the projects that don’t go anywhere is essential if you want to stick out the right ones.”
