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1-Page Summary of The Dip
Overview
As the old saying goes, “You gotta know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em.” This is also good advice for business and personal projects. In life, there will be times where things aren’t going as planned and progress is at a standstill. Many of us have watched as colleagues get promoted ahead of us or sales figures plateau. Relationships grow cold or we feel like our work isn’t getting any better. According to author Seth Godin, this difficult time is known as The Dip. It can be found in almost every facet of life.
However, there is an upside to the Dip. Godin points out that it’s a necessary part of any endeavor and if you’re prepared for it, then you’ll be better equipped to succeed.
In this article, you’ll find out how the Dip can help solve a problem; why it’s important for companies like Microsoft to embrace the Dip; and what you should do when facing obstacles.
Big Idea #1: Whatever your aim, you will experience a Dip, or a period of struggle.
Let’s take the example of learning to skate. At first, it will be easy to learn how to glide across the ice and even skate backwards. But learning how to land a perfect quadruple jump takes much effort and time before you can master it. The same experience is true for bringing a new business idea into reality. In the beginning, everything seems smooth sailing as you fall in love with your exciting ideas. But then there are mountains of paperwork that need attention and many problems arise during early stages that have to be solved carefully over several years until your business becomes successful
Sometimes, there are Dips in processes that people need to go through. For example, a medical student might have to take Organic Chemistry as part of his/her curriculum. It’s difficult and requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Many students won’t be able to get through the Dip because they give up too soon.
A lot of people want to become doctors, and so a lot of medical schools require an early decision. This allows the universities to cut down on the number of students by only accepting those who are truly interested in becoming doctors.
A similar strategy is used in hiring processes. In order to whittle down the applicant pool, many job applications require an excessive amount of documentation and include multiple rounds of stressful interviews.
The bad news is, when you’re in the middle of a Dip, it can seem like there’s no way out. But if you recognize that this phase will pass and stay focused on your goal, things will get better.
Big Idea #2: Being the best comes with big rewards, as well as some less obvious perks.
When you were growing up, your parents probably told you to have realistic goals instead of big ones.
If you aim to be the best, then your rewards can be phenomenal. Take ice-cream flavors for example: vanilla accounts for 30% of all sales in the US, while chocolate only accounts for 10%.
The gap between the best and second-best is huge. This phenomenon applies to more than just snack foods, but also record sales and college rankings.
As the author mentions, being number one is a huge advantage. However, there are also other benefits to being at the top of your game.
One thing that helps a business grow is the snowball effect. If you’re in a foreign country, and you want to find a good place to eat, ask someone who lives there for recommendations. You’ll likely be pointed toward the most popular restaurant. This will help it get more customers because of all the free word-of-mouth advertising it gets from people recommending it to their friends and family back home.
