Constructive Deconstruction

Thinking the Dip

October 25, 2007 on 6:56 pm | In Reflections, reviews | No Comments

I’ve just completed reading “The Dip” by Seth Godin so I thought I might just want to write down the more meaning things that i got from the book…

1. Quitting is precisely what needs to be done so that resources can be freed up for other efforts that could actually result in success. It’s ok to quit.

2. A part that I liked…

“When Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were being chased across the Badlands by Charlie Siringo and agents from Pinkerton’s, Butch kept heading for the hills, for tougher and tougher terrain. Why? Because he knew that in open country, he and Sundance would never have a shot at escape. Only if they got through the impassable hills ahead would there be a chance that the Pinkerton’s guys would quit. The harder it got, the better it was for Butch.But the Pinkerton’s posse persisted. It wasn’t until Butch and Sundance faced certain death that they escaped. Hey it worked in the movie. Your marketplace is competitive, filled with people overcoming challenges every day. It’s the incredibly difficult challenges( the Dips ) that give you the opportunity to pull ahead.

In a competitive world, adversity is your ally. The harder it gets, the better chance you have of insulating yourself from the competition. If that adversity also causes you to quit, though, it’s all for nothing.“

3. On snowboarding

“Snowboarding is a hip sport. It’s fast, exciting, and reasonably priced; and it makes you look very cool. So why are there so few snowboarders? Because learning the basic skills constitutes a painful Dip. It takes a few days to get the hang of it, and, during those few days, you’ll get pretty banged up. It’s easier to quit than 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 from scarcity. The mature thing is not even to bother starting to snowboard because you’re probably not going to make it through the Dip. And the stupid thing to do is to start, give it your best shot, waste a lot of time and money, and quit right in the middle of the Dip.”

4. Three questions to ask before quitting

• Am I panicking?
• Who am I trying to influence?
• What sort of measurable progress am I making?

5. Deciding in advance when to quit

“Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Well gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.’ And talk yourself into quitting. If you’re making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.” - Dick Collins, ultramarathoner