Quitters Can Win: Avoiding the Pitfalls of 'The Dip'

Your phone doesn't ring after your fifth, sixth or tenth job interview.

You're halfway through the marathon, your calves are burning and there's a stitch in your side -- and the finish line is a distant dream.

You've been given steady promotions at a job you've enjoyed for seven years, but your last three have been unchallenging "sideways" moves and you have the distinct feeling your hard work is being taken for granted.

You might be 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.

Seth Godin, best-selling author of books and a popular marketing blog, discusses a sticky topic in his small but power-packed "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)."

Vince Lombardi was wrong

The saying "Winners never quit and quitters never win" is a fallacy, according to Godin. In fact, there are times when quitting is the smartest tactic you can employ, as long as your long-term goal remains foremost in your mind. Knowing the difference depends on understanding, and recognizing, what Godin calls the "Dip."

"Almost everything in life worth doing is controlled by the Dip, Godin writes. When you embark on a project, hobby or learning experience, it's usually fun, interesting, and rewarding. Over the first few days, weeks or months, your interest in the endeavor keeps you engaged.

And then you encounter a Dip.

"The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. A long slog that's actually a shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path," says the author. Examples:

• The combination of bureaucracy and busywork you must deal with before you graduate from college, become certified in scuba diving, or get through a transition period at work.
• The difference between the easy "beginner" technique and the more useful "expert" approach in art or athletics.
• The long stretch between beginner's luck and real accomplishment

Successful people don't just ride out the Dip, Godin advises. They lean into it, pushing harder and changing the rules as they go." The book illustrates these ideas with graphs and even cartoons. It's an easy read, but don't be fooled. This diminutive book is definitely a case where size doesn't matter. It does not tell the reader what to do. It defines and illustrates case histories, but how you apply them in your own life will depend on how well you absorb the lessons. Godin's message goes down easily enough; however, the best bet is to read the book once, then after catching on to what the author is saying and reflecting on your own life, go back and read it again.

The father of "permission marketing"

Godin's first book to achieve mainstream success was "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers in to Friends and Friends into Customers." Distinct from "interruption marketing" (TV or radio advertising), permission marketing provides something of value to the consumer then obtains their permission to communicate it. Never employ deceit or spam, Godin wrote, and always keep your promises to the consumer. Generate buzz by being remarkable.

Godin's concept created buzz for itself in the marketing community. Marketing ideas spread as "idea viruses," he preached, and those who employ them are "sneezers."

A graduate of Tufts University with a degree in computer science and philosophy, Godin holds an MBA from Stanford Business School. He founded and worked at successful companies including Yahoo! and Fast Company. In 2005 Godin founded the "recommendation network" Web site Squidoo, and he is the author of a hugely popular marketing blog.

To quit, or not to quit?

All of us have grown up with the idea that quitting is the fast track to Loserville, but recent bestsellers written by successful CEOs have proved otherwise. Failing at an endeavor doesn't have to indicate a failing in character; failing could lead to valuable life lessons and might eventually clear the way along the road to long-term success.

Sadly for many who arrive at middle or old age filled with bitterness and regret, it's possible that societal taboo against quitting led to a lifetime of unhappy, dead-end jobs. Godin prefers to think of quitting (or not quitting) as a "go-up" opportunity, rather than a humiliating experience.

"You can realize that quitting the stuff you don't care about or the stuff you're mediocre at or better yet, quitting the Cul-de-Sacs, frees up your resources to obsess about the Dips that matter," he writes.

Godin spends considerable time describing the ultimate goal as becoming "the best in the world" at what you do. And that may be important to many in the business world. However, for those who are not so driven to perfection, the lesson of the Dip can apply in different ways. An artist, for example, may not care about being "the best"; rather, his or her goal may be simply to pursue art for its own sake, in the face of long years of obscurity and a subsistence income.

Bottom Line:

Here is what Seth Godin has to say about quitting in the chapter "If You're Not Going to Get to #1, You Might as Well Quit Now." Three Questions to Ask Before Quitting:

1. Am I panicking? Quitting when you're panicked is dangerous and expensive. The best quitters are the ones who decide in advance when they're going to quit. When the pressure is greatest to compromise, to drop out, or to settle, your desire to quit should be at its lowest. The decision to quit is often made in the moment. But that's exactly the wrong time to make such a critical decision.

2. Who am I trying to influence? Influencing one person is like scaling a wall. If you get over the wall the first few tries, you're in. If you don't, often you'll find the wall gets higher with each attempt. Influencing a market, on the other hand, is more of a hill than a wall. You can make progress, one step at a time, and as you get higher, it actually gets easier. Every step of progress you make is amplified over the last.

3. What sort of measurable progress am I making? Measurable progress doesn't necessarily have to be a raise or a promotion. It can be more subtle than that. The challenge is to create or recognize new milestones in areas where you have previously expected to find none.