I had the great fortune to go to Seth Godin’s book kick off party for his new book The Dip at the Chicago Chamber of Commerce last week.
Yay short guys!
I’d always heard much about Seth’s recommendation for doing slide presentations with images only and wasn’t sure exactly what that would really look like. But seeing Seth’s presentation on his latest book, The Dip, and the related concepts of the book has me convinced. Now I’ve got a lot of work to do.
You could tell who was at the talk because they were Seth fans (relaxed casual, color) versus the usual Chicago Chamber gang (navy suits as far as the eye can see).
The Dip is what happens after the big success.
It is the escape velocity to superstardom.
It is the ritual hazing of academia.
It is passing the bar exam.
Getting your 2 top abs visible and then wanting to go for the whole six pack.
Memorizing a complete piano concerto.
Taking a microbrewery macro.
Dips are all around us. So are cliffs and cul-de-sacs.
You have an early kapow! and then have to figure out how to sustain the results.
You, um, write a book and am at times terrified of the big fat question What’s Next.
If you’re Jack Welch you drop all business units that are #4 in their segment and focus on what is working.
I think the best way to describe the Dip is you find yourself asking:
Thank God that bullshit’s over. Now what the hell do I do?!
Do you quit and risk being accused of doing a ‘cut and run’? Do you stick it out now matter how painful the cost of quitting and how difficult the uphill slog?
That’s it: the alternate title for this book should be The Slog.
Contrary to the Seth’s enthusiasm for Seinfeld this has nothing to do with double-dipping.
Or that awful rap song by Freak Nasty.
Our acting teacher, the crazier one that enjoyed emotional abuse in a classroom setting, would rail at us if we didn’t have our lines memorized. "You guys! This is the simple part that others don’t do. This is the grunt work of acting."
Every profession has grunt work.
I also call it doing your ‘due diligence.’ Dotting the I’s crossing the T’s. The crosses to bear and bears to cross and burning that bridge when you get to it. The grunt work is the dip – the stuff that not everybody is willing to do but those that stick to it and push through it and – as Seth recommends – lean into it come out the other side with more of everything.
Seth’s big point he hammers home page after page is Stop doing the stuff you’re just okay at. Focus on your greatness. People pay a premium for a superstar. People will pay for excellence.
The old adage Winners never quit and quitters never win is wrong. Winners quit doing the wrong things at the right time.
And yes, yes, yes we do reward mediocrity and probably maybe we should sterilize stupid people but still in a world of instant outsourcing and too many choices – how do you differentiate yourself?
This is the most personal of Seth’s books so far. It edges right up to the self-help section but keeps firmly grouded in the Business section. Your personal problems are your business problems and vice versa. Here he is being more direct and confrontational than he’s ever been. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
Grab The Dip today. It is a compact little firecracker of a book. As always Seth writes just enough – taking what is bubbling up and what is raining down and mixing it into a success flurry.
Andy’s Mindmap
I posted a mindmap last week in image format (click to download). I also made one that is browsable.
Want a free copy of The Dip?
I have four extra copies of The Dip.
And I’m giving them away to 4 random folks that tell me in the comments below:
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