He focused on quitting not in the bad sense, like giving up your paper route as a kid because you were bored with it, but rather, quitting at something to realize a bigger and better goal. We all want to be the best at what we do, but is that really overrated in the long run? Shouldn’t we just focus on continuously striving to improve ourselves? Seth thinks so.

Seth pointed out some famous quitters, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as examples of people who were ok at one thing (in Jeff’s case, being a financial analyst), but quit that to start something they’re great at (starting amazon.com). We all have the choice to give up or keep going when we hit “the dip,” but in the end it’s really up to us to decide how we want to proceed and realize sometimes we can’t do it all.

I understand what he means. I used to be a pretty good newspaper designer, but I think I’m a much better blogger (I’ll let my colleagues try to argue me on that one!). I think the same is true when trying to deliver the high-class services to your clients. You can always find room for improvement.

I asked Melanie Seasons and Chris Poterala for their thoughts after Seth’s lecture.

Melanie Seasons:
“I'm interested in reading the book. It makes sense from an economics-type standpoint, but these decisions are too often based on emotion. I think his main point (and not having read the book) is how to separate the logos from the pathos in making business decisions.”

Chris Poterala:
“Seth's talk was very timely for me, reminding me that we do not need to try to do everything, and that if we do, we will end up not doing anything well ... it helped me focus on getting things done and doing them well. I really liked the sense that we don't need to be all for all.

What do you think about “The Dip?” If you were at the lecture or have read the point, let us know.

Read all about Seth's visit over at Connect in Ann Arbor.