The Dip: The extraordinary benefits of knowing when to quit (and when to stick)

by Seth Godin

Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.

quitting is often a great strategy, a smart way to manage your life and your career.

Be the best in my world and you have me, at a premium, right now.

Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations. Reactive quitting and serial quitting are the bane of those that strive (and fail) to get what they want. And most people do just that. They quit when it’s painful and stick when they can’t be bothered to quit.

Understanding the different types of situations that lead you to quit—or that should cause you to quit—is the first step toward getting what you want.

Scarcity, as we’ve seen, is the secret to value. If there wasn’t a Dip, there’d be no scarcity.

a dead end is keeping you from doing something else.

If It Is Worth Doing, There’s Probably a Dip

In a competitive world, adversity is your ally.

Before you enter a new market, consider what would happen if you managed to get through the Dip and win in the market you’re already in.

Knowing that you’re facing a Dip is the first step in getting through it.

The challenge is simple: Quitting when you hit the Dip is a bad idea.

Simple: If you can’t make it through the Dip, don’t start. If you can embrace that simple rule, you’ll be a lot choosier about which journeys you start.

If you can get through the Dip, if you can keep going when the system is expecting you to stop, you will achieve extraordinary results. People who make it through the Dip are scarce indeed, so they generate more value.

If you’re going to quit, quit before you start. Reject the system. Don’t play the game if you realize you can’t be the best in the world.

To be a superstar, you must do something exceptional. Not just survive the Dip, but use the Dip as an opportunity to create something so extraordinary that people can’t help but talk about it, recommend it, and, yes, choose it.

The next time you catch yourself being average when you feel like quitting, realize that you have only two good choices: Quit or be exceptional. Average is for losers.

Observing the supermarket over the years, I’ve determined that there are three common checkout strategies.

Please understand this: If you’re not able to get through the Dip in an exceptional way, you must quit.

most consumers could care less about your idea or those fancy high-heeled shoes or some cutting-edge type of glue. Instead, they wait. They wait for something to be standardized, tested, inexpensive, and ready for prime time.

It’s easy to be seduced by the new money and the rush to the fresh. The problem is that this leads to both an addiction and a very short attention span.

Short-term pain has more impact on most people than long-term benefits

Persistent people are able to visualize the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can’t see it.

At the same time, the smartest people are realistic about not imagining light when there isn’t any.

QUIT! It’s okay to quit, sometimes. In fact, it’s okay to quit often. You should quit if you’re on a dead-end path. You should quit if you’re facing a Cliff. You should quit if the project you’re working on has a Dip that isn’t worth the reward at the end. Quitting the projects that don’t go anywhere is essential if you want to stick out the right ones. You don’t have the time or the passion or the resources to be the best in the world at both.

The time to look for a new job is when you don’t need one. The time to switch jobs is before it feels comfortable.

If your job is a Cul-de-Sac, you have to quit or accept the fact that your career is over.

Quitting Is Not the Same as Failing

Quitting smart, though, is a great way to avoid failing.

If the best you can do is cope, you’re better off quitting.

Quitting is better than coping because quitting frees you up to excel at something else.

Actually, quitting as a short-term strategy is a bad idea. Quitting for the long term is an excellent idea.

“Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.” Now that’s good advice.

Pride Is the Enemy of the Sm...

quitting is worth your focus and consideration is the first step to becoming the best in the world. The next step is to ask three questions.

Quitting when you’re panicked is dangerous and expensive.

The best quitters, as we’ve seen, are the ones who decide in advance when they’re going to quit.

The reason so many of us quit in the Dip is that without a compass or a plan, the easiest thing to do is to give up.

If, on the other hand, your business doesn’t generate word of mouth, doesn’t see new customers, and isn’t moving forward, why exactly are you sticking with it?

your commitment to the market needs to be unquestioned—it’s

because every day you wait puts your goal further away.

Write down under what circumstances you’re willing to quit.

If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.

So, there’s tool number one. If quitting is going to be a strategic decision that enables you to make smart choices in the marketplace, then you should outline your quitting strategy before the discomfort sets in.

every individual and every organization that wants to use quitting as a competitive tool ought to have a plan about when it’s time to quit.

That’s why setting your limits before you start is so powerful.

Figure out how much pressure you’ve got available, then pick your tire. Not too big, not too small.

The lesson is simple: If you’ve got as much as you’ve got, use it.