Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Has anyone read Seth Godin`s newest book yet? I am a Godin fan from way back and I`ll get to this book soon.

Rich Sloan is interviewing Seth about The Dip and I`m gonna listen in to get a little author`s insight in advance of turning the pages myself.

The book subtitle is "A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)" and it just hit #5 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Any other Seth Godin fans out there??

We`re always talking about him in this forum. I know I`ve written mentions of him on my Small Business Essentials site lots of times.

His blog is part great advice, part crackup.

There`s an old quote that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome."

It`s nice to know that when you`re in a "dip," you should stick it out. But if you`re in a failing industry you should quit. Nice too, to know that quitting isn`t an awful thing. (I`m not sure when quitting got to be such a bad thing, but I`ll assume it is.)

The problem is.....how do you know all this? How does an 80-page book explain how to predict the future?

One discussion point from the book separates out selling to an industry from selling to 1 customer. That would be the idea of diversifaction, I think, right?

I like both Seths---Grodin AND Godin (changed `cause Nikole yelled at me! ), so this isn`t some argumentative question. I`m just curious. Can you really "teach" someone how to analyze a business that`s not going to work......if they`re already involved and apparently passionate about staying in that business?

How many times have you talked with a friend and told them that the love affair they`re having is going to explode? They look at you and nod, but say that "this is different!" This time it won`t explode, this person is totally different, and nobody really understands how amazing what they have together really is.

"I like Seth Grodin, so this isn`t some argumentative question. I`m just curious. Can you really "teach" someone how to analyze a business that`s not going to work......if they`re already involved and apparently passionate about staying in that business?"

Yes you can teach someone how to analyze a business that`s not going to work. This is in fact a highly valuable skill ... and it`s also why people avoid strategic planning ... it`s scary to confront the possible pitfalls and traps. A realistic, high-resolution image of a market can be very, very frightening. However you cannot teach this to an unreceptive audience ... you know the old saw about the horse and the water.

Seth Godin would like you better if you spelled his name right.

But yeah, I think you can teach those sorts of things. Maybe not entirely in one book, but it`s a good start.

Hey GraigL, do you remember our project on writing a book in the Seth Godin style "on presentation skills for scientists"........I am big fan of Godin and really wished there were more Godins in the world...I am a scientist, and used to SUFFER sitting thru endless "scientific" presentations, agonizing, and asking myself "are these people for real?"... I am still waiting for a "Sethscientist" who will come and set the record strait in the scientific community....Boy do they need one!

Magda

When I looked it up on Google, it seems it could be Godin or Grodin. Even Seth`s blog showed up with both spellings. Now how confusing is THAT!!

He`s just covering all his Google bases....lol.  I like him too.  Good guy, sound advice.

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Dale
www.ourbestidea.com
www.maskerinsurance.com
www.maskercreations.net

What`s interesting is that if you Google "Grodin," you get his blog and an Amazon link. In both, the description text highlights the spelling "grodin" as part of the site.

Then if you do the same for "Godin," you get the same links (as well as countless others), and that spelling too, is highlighted as being correct.

At first I thought he just had two different pages or paragraphs, but looking at how Google is handling both spellings I realize I don`t know how he`s doing that. Definitely a very clever system, though!

I like him ... he is one of the great people in internet world...


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