Daily Archives: August 24, 2007

Quitting is typically considered a dirty word in the business world. According to Seth Godin, however, “strategic quitting” is a skill that’s well worth cultivating.

In his book, The Dip, he explores a mental model that represents the path to “best in the world” status for any goal or project worth pursuing. When you inevitably run out of steam on the long path to greatness, it’s absolutely necessary to be able to see if (1) the path you’re on is going to take you where you want to go, and (2) if you have what it takes to push through the unavoidable tough times and become the best in the world in your chosen field. If the path’s a dead-end or the reward is simply no longer worth it, you’re much better off quitting and reinvesting your time and energy elsewhere.

Over the years, I’ve used this concept to my benefit. Of course, I recommend that you carefully analyze and evaluate your situation before proceeding. This course of action can provide an invaluable method to help you restructure your plan and focus on what’s important for the road ahead.

I am a proponent of the management philosophy that a person should focus on developing their strengths rather than trying to fix their weaknesses. This theory was proposed by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book, First, Break All The Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. This idea was based on the Gallup organization’s interviews with 80,000 managers across different industries and the authors explored how great managers attract, hire, focus, and keep their most talented employees.

Here are some key ideas from the book:
1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom.
2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual.
3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths and talent.
4. The best managers know they are on stage everyday. They know their people are watching every move they make.
5. Measuring employee satisfaction is vital information for your investors.
6. People leave their immediate managers, not the companies they work for.
7. The best managers are those that build a work environment where the employees answer positively to the following 12 Questions:

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