Seth Godin's new book is The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
Seth's main message is that you need to know when to quit. It doesn't always pay to persevere, and sometimes,
"Quitting frees you up to excel at something else."
So, how do you know when to quit and when to keep pushing through a tough patch? We discussed "purposeful abandonment" right here on May 4, and I referred to David Peck's idea of setting "failure standards" ahead of time. That's part of what Seth suggests, too. Before you embark on a project, write down under what circumstances you should quit the project. Then keep an eye out for those circumstances.
"The Dip" is the hard patch you will hit in every good project, the part where most folks quit. In a true dip, however, you should be able to see that more work of the right kind will get you past the tough part and onto higher ground. If you are in a true dip, perseverance is what is required to succeed.
On the other hand, a "cul-de-sac" is a project that shows no improving trend - one that you don't think will get significantly better no matter how hard you work. Seth's best example of a cul-de-sac is the space shuttle program. In his view, the existing space shuttle will never be great, no matter how long we work to improve it. However, if we abandoned the space shuttle, a much better replacement could be quickly developed, using all those resources that are tied up in the old program.
If you are in a cul-de-sac, then QUIT!
Get the book or the CD - Seth says it so much better than I can.
