I've been pondering this little book by Seth Godin lately. It's called The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). Seth points out that sometimes we quit the right things too quickly. And on the flip side sometimes we don't quit the wrong things fast enough. In an age where we all refer to ourselves as "too busy" and feel we have "too much" on our plates and that our resources are "too limited," I think it is worth asking the questions posed in this book. Are we making the right decisions in "the Dip"...sticking with the things we can be best in the world at and quitting the things that are "Cul-de-Sacs?" Here are some of the quotes I'm reflecting on:
When Jack Welch remade GE, the most fabled decision he made was this: If we can't be #1 or #2 in an industry, we must get out. Why sell a billion-dollar division that's making a profit quite happily while ranking #4 in market share? Easy. Because it distracts management attention. It sucks resources and capital and focus and energy. And most of all, it teaches people in the organization that it's okay not to be the best in the world. Jack quit the dead ends. By doing so, he freed resources to get his other businesses through the Dip.
What does your community need your kids' ministry to be "best in the world" at? What do you need to quit in order to focus more energy, focus, and resources in that area?
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.
Is your busyness focused or scattered?
The Dip is actually your greates ally because it makes the project worthwhile...but wait, that's not enough. Not only do you need to find a Dip that you can conquer but you also need to quit all the Cul-de-Sacs that you're currently idling your way through. You must quit the projects and investments and endeavors that don't offer you the same opportunity. It's difficult, but it's vitally important.
If you could only do one thing in your kids' ministry...one program, one initiative, one project...what would you do?
If quitting is going to be a strategic decision that enables you to make smart choices in the marketplace, then you should outline your quitting strategy before the discomfort sets in. Just as a smart venture capitalist pressures the board of directors to have a plan in case they run out of money, every individual and every organization that wants to use quitting as a competative tool ought to have a plan about when it's time to quit.
Do you have a quitting strategy? When you try a new project or program, do you have a set of criteria that will help you determine whether you need to push through the Dip or quit?
You and your organization have the power to change everything...How dare you squander that resource by spreading it too thin. How dare you settle for mediocre just because you're busy coping with too many things on your agenda, racing against the clock to get it all done. The lesson is simple: If you've got as much as you've got, use it. Use it to become the best in the world, to change the game, to set the agenda for everyone else. You can only do that by marshaling all of your resources to get through the biggest possible Dip. In order to get through that Dip, you'll need to quit everything else. If it's not going to put a dent in the world, quit. Right now. Quit and use that void to find the energy to assault the Dip that matters. Go ahead, make something happen. We're waiting!
