Failure Is An Option

First shown at 3 Wins Consulting.


Sometimes the difference between success and failure is a very fine line. Seth Godin refers to that odd little point in time when a project stalls or slows...as a "Dip".

We offer a few simple but remarkable observations from the book:

"The most common response to the Dip is to play it safe. To do ordinary work, blameless work, work that's beyond reproach. When faced with the Dip, most people suck it up and try to average their way to success."

"It's human nature to quit when it hurts. But it's that reflex that creates scarcity. The challenge is simple: Quitting when you hit the Dip is a bad idea. If the journey you started was worth doing, then quitting when you hit the Dip just wastes the time you've already invested. Quit in the Dip often enough and you'll find yourself becoming a serial quitter, starting many things but accomplishing little. Simple: If you can't make it through the Dip, don't start."

"... the real success goes to those who obsess. The focus that leads you through the Dip to the other side is rewarded by a marketplace in search of the best in the world. A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner."

"The next time you're tempted to vilify a particularly obnoxious customer or agency or search engine, realize that this failed interaction is the best thing that's happened to you all day long. Without it, you'd be easily replaceable. The Dip is your very best friend."

"The Dip" should be required reading for every non-profit. If you're stalled on fundraising, discouraged by the lack of people to stick their hands in the air to volunteer or head up committees...stay with it. There's every likelihood your original ideas are sound but they may need some adjustment or updating to become current and relevant.