Book Review: Seth Godin’s The Dip

Every entrepreneur is going to experience it, no matter what.  It’s the dreaded downslide, that period when you hit a wall after finally reaching success.  We’re talking about ‘the dip’, and it’s the focus of a book by noted author and marketing expert Seth Godin.  The basic concept of The Dip is explained by Godin as:

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun.  Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point:  really hard, and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle.

Maybe you’re in a Dip - a temporary setback that you will overcome if you keep pushing.  But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt-until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

Godin’s advice in The Dip is that every business reaches a difficult period after the honeymoon is over, and many business owners are tempted to quit.  On the other side of that difficult period (dip) is massive success as the leader in your field.  These ‘dips’ can actually give you the motivation you need to power through – if you believe you can be the best in the world at what you do.  In fact, the biggest dips – which Godin refers to as ‘Valleys of Death’ -  weed out non-committed competitors.

Perhaps the book’s strongest point is its cold-hard-reality take on those ‘dips’ that just aren’t going to get you anywhere.  Some people in business find themselves banging their heads against a brick wall, and there’s no way out – in the book, this is described with a model called ‘the cul-de-sac’, and the only thing on the other side is failure, no matter how hard you work.  Sometimes, it’s because you’re in the wrong business.  The Dip helps you determine whether your personal struggles are worth fighting or if you’d be better off moving on.  It’s a valuable lesson that many people could use some pointers on.

The best thing about The Dip is that Godin has taken this familiar concept and explained it in a way that was easy to understand.  It’s meant to fire people up to take action.  The Dip will help you take inventory of your own situation and decide whether you should quit while you’re ahead or put everything you’ve got into making it to the other side.  It’s full of good advice, and definitely worth a read.

Link [The Dip]

• 7 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Make Time to Read
• STARTUPS | Honing the Elevator Pitch: The Art of Who You Are in 30 Seconds
• Small Business Layoffs: Tips for Those Inevitable Terminations
• How to Inject Personality into Your Business – Without Going Overboard
• 7 Ways Small Businesses Let Money Go Down the Drain