The Dip

About The Dip

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (2007) is the tenth published book by former dot com executive Seth Godin.[1] It is a 76 page book that illustrates the concept of "the dip"—a temporary setback that can be overcome with persistence—and how to recognize if you are within one worth pushing through or one where you should quit. The rough idea for The Dip first materialized on Godin's blog.[2] On an entry titled "The four curves of want and get," Godin shows four curves representing patterns of adoption.[3] He ends the post with "How do you avoid killing something too early, or celebrating too early. And last, how do you know when to kill a dud," a theme that would reappear in The Dip. Five months later, Godin posted another entry titled "Understanding Local Max," in which he presented another success curve—this time nearly identical to the one that appears in his book—and analyzed the hypothetical conversation that would occur at four points on the curve.[4] In addition to being the basis behind The Dip, the entry was also included in Small is the new Big, a collection of short pieces from his blog. Heading in the Love Direction…