The Dip: Seth Godin - Book Summary & Analysis
What's the gist of The Dip? The Dip explains the difference between strategic quitting and compulsive or reactive quitting, and how understanding when to do the one, and stop doing the other, we can achieve so much more.
“Being the best in the world is seriously underrated. Stick with the good stuff, quit the bad stuff and have the guts to do one or the other." - The Dip: Seth Godin
Extraordinary benefits accrue to the tiny minority who are willing to push through that little bit further. Extraordinary benefits also accrue to the tiny majority with the guts to quit and refocus their efforts towards something new.
In both cases it's about being the best in the world. Stick with the good stuff, quit the bad stuff and have the guts to do one or the other.
The magic of thinking quit.
Strategic quitting is the secret to success. Most people do just the opposite, reactive quitting.
There are two curves that define almost any situation facing you as you try to accomplish something. Understanding the different types of situations that lead you to quit or that should cause you to quit is the first step towards getting what you want.
Curve #1. "The Dip" almost everything in life worth doing is controlled by the dip. When you first start something, it's fun. The dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. The dip is the long slog between beginners luck and being an expert. It's the set of artificial screens set up to keep people like you out.
Important note: Successful people don't just ride out the dip, they don't just buckle down and endure it. They lean into the dip, they seek it out.
Curve #2. "Cul-de-sac" is French for "dead end". A dead-end doesn't get a lot worse and doesn't get a lot better, it just is. When you find a dead-end you need to get out fast because it's preventing you from doing something else. The opportunity cost of investing your life in something that's not going to get better is just too high.
That's it! Two big curves. Stick with the dips that are likely to pan out, and get out of the cul-de-sacs to focus your resources.
Bonus curve: "The Cliff" Cigarettes are a marketer's dream because the longer you smoke the more addictive it becomes and the harder quitting is...until you hit a cliff, and simply fall off.
If something is worth doing there is probably a dip. The dip creates scarcity, scarcity creates value.
The biggest obstacle to our success in life is our inability to quit the cul-de-sacs and cliffs quickly enough. What's the point of sticking it out if you're not going to enjoy the benefits of being the best in the world? Are you significantly over investing in time and money to give yourself a chance to dominate your market? If you don't have enough time and money, do you have the guts to pick a smaller market to conquer?
The people who invest the time, the energy and the money to power through the dip are the ones who become the best in the world.
The author makes an example of Snowboarding. Snowboarding is a hip sport but why are there so few people doing it?
Because getting the basics right constitutes a dip. It takes a few days to get the hang of it, and during those few days you will get banged up, it's easier to quit then it is to keep going. The brave thing to do is to tough it out and end up on the other side, getting all the benefits that come with scarcity. The mature thing to do is to not even bother getting started in the first place because you're probably not going to make it through the dip. The stupid thing to do is to start, give it your best shot, waste a lot of time and money and then quit right in the middle of the dip.
A few people will be brave and end up the best in the world, informed people will probably choose to do the mature thing and save their resources for a project they are truly passionate about — both are fine choices. It’s that last, sadly common, choice that’s the issue.
In a competitive world, adversity is your ally — the harder it gets, the better chance you have of insulating yourself from the competition.
The author shares his view that windsurfing is easy for the most part, with exception of one factor… the wind. This same thing is true for every single function in an organisation (e.g sales would be easy if it wasn’t for prospects not buying from you every time you pitch ‘em) — here’s the good news… the difficulty and unpredictability works to your advantage!
The driving force that leads people to consult with a specialist is because their disease is unpredictable or hard to diagnose — we’re here to solve the hard problems.
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In Part II of this book summary you'll discover the 7 reasons you might fail in your mission of being the best in the world, as well as learn about the 8 systems that are dependant on dips... and more!
