Seth Godin’s The Dip Review

I saw a few blogs recommending this book and I happened to get it for Christmas. I skipped it to the front of the TO READ list and managed to get into it on our flight back from New Zealand.

It’s quite an interesting little read and is seeks to dispel and explain why the philosophy of NEVER QUIT isn’t always the right one…

Seth talks about proficiency, or success in anything worthwhile, involving an inevitable”dip”. A dip being a period of difficulty, hardship, significant challenge, minimal progress or strain that has to be overcome to master any skill or business.

He explains how people who achieve success in a pursuit are the ones who persist just long enough to overcome the period of the most significant hardship, after which they reap the rewards that most people are never granted.

He also explained how there are different types of Dips, some actually being Cul De Sacs, where despite any amount of hardship you go through, you won’t see the benefits of the other side for some reason. Maybe the business model you’re pursuing is no longer profitable for example.

He talks about their being great wisdom in being able to recognize whether the path you’re following is in fact a curve with a dip, or a Cul De Sac that you should just bail out of as soon as you can.

Furthermore, he talks about going into a pursuit being fully aware of the dip that will occur, planning for it and giving yourself the best chance of making it through to the other side where all the good stuff is. This means you won’t get discouraged when things don’t seem to be going right because you know it’s part of the dip that is inevitable in any activity and you will press forth until you climb triumphantly to the other side.

The last great distinction I got was from a story he told about the rate of dropouts in the average marathon. There was a graph that showed how the highest percentage of people in a marathon drop out at a point about 85% of the way to completion. It was interesting because the percentage increased slowly from the start of the race and peaked at about 85% of the race, but after that, the percentage dropped down, displaying how the people who make it past that 85% mark (the dip) rarely quit as by then they have the finish line in sight!

It also helped illustrate that its only JUST after the point when you feel like you have to quit that you’re about to succeed!

Finally I remembered the quote (from some marathon runner) that went “If you make a decision based on how you feel in that moment (like when you’re tired and hurting during a marathon) you’ll probably make the wrong decision.” – Interesting!

Anyway it’s a quick read and one that will definitely make some things click in your head. I recommend you pick it up.