Quit or Stick - Which Strategy is Best? - Digital Scrapbook Designer Professionals

Quit or Stick - Which Strategy is Best?

By PChip | Category: Reviews & Interviews |

Entrepreneurs know as much as anyone else, in starting up and running your own business you run into many obstacles! Most of the time people deal with them by persevering. Sometimes pushing forward when the going gets tough is the best thing to do.

There are other times when it’s best to cut your losses and quit. While many self-help books encourage a mind set of “winners never quit” that’s not always the smartest or best option. Because the fact is that winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

But when is the right time to push on and when is it best to quit? Are there indicators in our business that can help us come to the right conclusion? How does one determine what is the right stuff to stick with and when is it time to quit things early and refocus our efforts on something new?

A Quest for the Best

Seth Godin in his book The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) offers his take on this subject. He starts off telling us about how it’s best to be number 1. He shares how winners win big and take in the biggest dollars as a result of it. He encourages his readers to aim for and achieve that top spot.

Seth tells us in the first few pages that his book is primarily for people who agree with his views on how being at the top is the best place to be and is where you should always be focused. In my opinion, to be the forerunner in many things (business included) is a worthy quest indeed! It’s one that is definitely worth aiming for in many cases. However, I don’t agree that this should be the primary goal of a business or the main goal for an entrepreneur. Nor I do I agree that this mind-set is a healthy one for every business owner.

Look for the Nuggets of Wisdom

When you come across a book where you find yourself thinking the author and you don’t see eye to eye, do you put it down and stop reading or continue on to see if there’s anything else worth taking in? With most business related books that I read, I usually can find some things that make sense to me and I agree with. There are some things that I’m not so sure of or I simply don’t agree with at all. I’ve read several of Seth Godins books; my favorite is Permission Marketing (a must read for any internet marketer!) So even though I don’t totally agree with Seth’s take on “being number one is the most important thing to strive for “, I still continued with the book to see if there were other things that I might find useful.

So What About this Quitting Thing?

He describes what he refers to as the architecture of quitting and how it relates to success. I think his idea of what equals success and my personal take on it are different. However the concepts he describes make sense in either case. He talks about how to recognize one of two curves you may be experiencing and by doing so you’ll know when to stick and when to quit.

The Dip: He uses a diagram that shows a downward trend line to illustrate a low point or a difficult spot in your progress towards the thing that you want. This he calls the dip. It’s the “screening system” in any endeavor that will filter out the best of the best. If you make it through this dip then, according to Mr Godin, your business is successful and will rise to the top. He talks about how successful businesses lean into and embrace the dip (the difficult business challenges) to get to the other side.

The Cul-de-sac: The other curve he refers to as a “dead-end” and compares it to a cul-de-sac. Get into this curve and you should quit. He encourages you to look closely at your thoughts and your actions and if you are settling for mediocrity then you should quit. If you see that there is no real possibility for something to improve, then you should quit. If you don’t see that there’s a real reason to continue forward – then you should quit.

My thoughts are that quitting under these circumstances can actually help you discover a totally new way of looking at the same thing. Once you are free from the weight that comes from the everyday drudgery you’ve been experiencing in the dead-end activity, your new found freedom can spark bigger and better ideas to help you reach your goals. I agree that under these circumstances it’s a good time to quit.

Purposely Creating a Competitive Dip

In his book he also includes some of his thoughts about how smart businesses will go all out to create a huge dip in the industry. This makes it harder for their competitors to sneak up on them and seep into a market that they wish to dominate. As long as this isn’t taken to an illegal extreme - more power to ya. I’m the first to admit that I am competitive and have a winning spirit. With that said, I don’t think it’s necessary to eliminate my competition in order to feel successful in my endeavors. On the contrary – I find the “game” much more enjoyable and worth my time if I have friendly competition to “play” with. And then again, I don’t feel like I have to be number one or my company doesn’t have to be the best of the best, before I can feel successful. That’s just not the measurement I use for personal success. No offense is intended towards those who do. I recognize and respect the fact that we each have our own ideas of what represents success.

Is Quitting a Bad Thing?

I think all of us can relate to times in life when quitting is indeed the wrong thing to do, but there are times when it’s absolutely the right thing to do as well. Another message Seth delivers is that quitting shouldn’t be looked at as failure. It shouldn’t be considered a bad thing to be avoided. Having the guts to quit is something that some people really have difficulty doing. When your gut tells you to quit something, and you’re finding it difficult to follow your instincts – it’s really time to do some personal soul searching. It’s time to do a serous review of the possible consequences of your actions to either keep going – or quit.

I can sure relate to that feeling of uncertainty about quitting. I went through these feelings in the worst way when debating over a marriage/divorce situation. My gut was torn in so many directions, I was a total mess - all over trying to decide if this was a time to stick or quit. Difficult decisions were made and some serious consequences were obvious no matter which way things went. In the end “quitting” was the right thing to do. Ultimately the divorce occurred and truly – things did improve by leaps and bounds (for everyone involved). Once we all got over the whole “quitting is a bad thing” attitude, the light shined through and everyone was the better for it.

That time in my life provided me with another opportunity for a lesson about hesitating to quit even when I knew the time was right. Making the decision to quit also freed up my thoughts and resources to see better things in the future. I think Seth might really be on to something with the part of his message that includes quitting shouldn’t be looked at as a failure or as a bad thing.

“Do or Don’t Do. There is No Try”… Yoda

About midway through his book he says that if you aren’t striving for the number one spot, it’s time to admit you’ll never be the best at that particular thing and then quit so you can refocus on something else that you can be number one at. Umm….. No - I don’t agree with you there Mr Godin. He also says,

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

Seth followed his statement with a question to his audience about whether or not his statement is too harsh. I answer the question with a giant YES. I totally think the way he chose to express this thought has some serious flaws in it.

My bias against that phrase may be because of my psychology studies, my role as a mother (of 5 daughters and 8 grandchildren), and my career experiences. My opinion is that when a person is finding themselves feeling average or weighing the options to continue with something verses quitting – I don’t believe the ONLY two good options are either to quit or be exceptional. Realistically, there are other good options. Also - putting a negative spin on the term “average” makes about as much sense as putting a negative spin on the word “quit.” Neither of these things is necessarily bad and looking at them as such can work against a person and skew their decision to an irrational one.

I Agree to Disagree

I could go on with more examples of things that I agree with in The Dip, and points that Seth and I could debate over until the wee hours of the night, but this blog entry is long enough! The thing is - he truly offers some good advice. He also offers some that could be very harmful to a person – especially if taken out of context. This goes for an entrepreneur making business decisions or a person who’s considering the stick or quit options in a personal situation.

Do I Recommend this Book or Not?

Well it’s a quick read and rather low on the price scale. I picked up the CD for 5 bucks, got some tips here and there, and was able to offer a review in my blog. So it was worth it to me. But if I had paid like $20 or more for the book I wouldn’t think that I got my money’s worth.

Before you go out and buy it yourself, consider for a moment if you are of the mind set that being number one is the best and only place to strive for. Like if your goal was to be the best of the best digi-scrapbook designer, or if you wanted to have the highest ranking digi-scrap business in the industry. If those are the types of goals you set for your business then I recommend you pick up a copy of The Dip. I’m pretty sure it will spur you on and offer you some terrific food for thought to help you achieve what you’re wanting. And may the force be with you! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself. I still have the StarWars theme song stuck in my head.)

If your business goals do not include “being number one” and they aren’t likely to turn in that direction anytime soon, then I’d recommend you put your money elsewhere. In spite of my mixed feelings over this particular book, I do see Seth as a savvy entrepreneur and he has some great advice to offer. If you want to read a Seth Godin book that can really do some good for you in the digi-art industry – then pick up his Permission Marketing book. That one I really recommend for anyone selling products or services online! I’ll do a review on this book sometime as well.

But for today – I think you’ve heard enough of me and my opinions. ROFLOL I’d love to hear your thoughts. Care to share any?

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Melothria January 20th, 2008 3:46 am :
I am a fan of Seth Godin and have read Permission Marketing and I think if there is just one book to read when you build a business on-line it has to be this one. Thank you for your articles and your great business reports that give me so much to think about everytime I get one.
Olga January 20th, 2008 6:03 pm :
About the issue of being the best, I understand the concept of being the best as being the best not compare with other people, but being the best you can be doing what you’re doing. Something of the kind of trying to offer the best product you can in your business or to offer the best service you can provide to your customer.

There are many differences between businesses and if you try to excel with what you have you would be able to compete even with businesses with more resources. It’s not how much you have, but how well you use it in my opinion.

Excellent article and great recommendation, thanks so much for it and best wishes. :O)
Nichole January 25th, 2008 10:12 pm :
I’ve read Seth Godin as well and he’s a wonderful author. I appreciate your review of this book. It’s one I hadn’t picked up yet.

Keep up the reviews. I’m liking them!
PChip January 27th, 2008 11:55 am :
An excellent point Olga. When “being the best” refers to your own expectation of you rather than being better than others - it’s a great way to achieve your own goals. And I believe it’s a healthier way of looking at that “best of the best” concept too!

Thank you for sharing your comments folks. It’s good to hear feedback from you.
amgeraci February 6th, 2008 8:26 pm :
i read this book while on a layover on my return flight home. it is not a new concept; we have all heard the phrase “pick your battles”. he just expounds on it in 80 pages or so. if nothing, this book might allow you to reassess the situations you currently find yourself in - is there light at the end of your personal tunnel? or are you in just another dead end?

i enjoyed the read. you might as well.