It was my first book from Seth Godin, and he talks about strategic quitting in this book. Here is my own interpretation of
What is a dip – its a temporary situation when you feel like stuck, the results are not convincing and success seems impossible. Dip can also be considered as a situation similar to a dead-end assignment with no progress and feel like wasting time and energy.
Strategic quitting is good – when we know things won’t work out in our favor or input exceeds far beyond the value of output; quitting can be right choice. Its similar to cancelling the project or closing a business when things are not working out the way expected (no profit).
When to stick– is this goal worth pursuing or not? Are you having fun doing this work, learning some new skills and also extracting some future benefits? Can you treat it as sharpening your saw (skill) for the next move? Can you treat it as launch pad? Yes, then sticking is good.
Is it possible to know if its right time to quit – personally, I do not think so. One has to take chances. The point is, if you quit- quit without guilt. If you plan to stick and later find out that you are going nowhere; do not make it an issue of pride; if quitting is the right thing; just do it. If you have some clue that you can get out of the dip and it will be great reward at the end – hang in there.
My Take – Strategic quitting is just like a well thought out Exit Plan. Every opportunity has at least some risks involved and an exit plan is always needed. Dip is a risk if we are not equipped and inspired to get out of it. Risk planning tells us that we should have some contingency plan in place and build plans to avoid and react to the risk. One size does not fit all in this case and Seth Godin does not claim to offer any formula; but gives a perspective, another option to consider.
What you think? Did I get it right? I am open for your suggestions. You can find more info on Phil Windley’s Technometrial page on The Dip here.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Categories: Books, Business, Leadership, Management, Self Help, Thoughts
Leadership and Management 
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