The Dip Lets You In / And Out

Look at almost any North American or Global equity and you’ll see that we’re in a bit of a dip here. That’s little rallies notwithstanding, like this week so far. I use this Dip idea and analogy for lots of things. My Business Communications class will have heard me speak about it just recently.

Initially a book by this man, Van Tharp, allowed me to see that investing analogies can be used for many aspects of my life: like how being an arbitrator allows you to fill a necessary niche. Forget the buy-low sell-high, it’s about filling a certain gap, making it yours. Then I sat in Chapters and read Seth Godin’s The Dip because it’s a tiny little book that’s not worth reading more than once (but is worth checking out). He points out that a dip in anything – think price, attitude, project realities etc. – should be used as an effective point to get in or out of something.

There will be lulls in your blogging ‘career’. There just will be. If it’s not about readership, then it is about creativity. Quitting’s just not an option unless you really just don’t have the time anymore. But that dip is a good time for massive change, like readjusting a portfolio or rethinking your strategies.

Open new themes, try new things and see how that works out. Change your mission statement, investigate new areas or even leave old ones behind that just weren’t working out for you. I’ve done both: massive change in a lull, as well as adding change during a peak. Both have given me momentum.

The Dip allows for healthy change in management. This is where I insert my token theme of land/forest management where I know there is a big need for change. Until now change has been ridiculously hard to implement, or in my case just observe as I just don’t see it! But I believe I will soon…

In the next 10 years there is going to be the massive changeover from old growth to fully second-growth timber harvesting. There is a lot of speculation as to how this will play out, but the general sentiment is ‘Not Good’, or ‘Questionably’. One of the largest concerns is how marketable this new, and in some cases cloned, mid-quality timber will be. I also don’t know when this change happened, or will happen in the US. I’ve read that there’s less than 4% original forest left in the US, so it’s probably a non-issue considering its protection by now.

The point here is management and ideology change within the dip. In a way I cheer failure because only then do those with the power to change finally implement it. As we see a younger, differently trained, and idealistic workforce take charge, we can start to hope that care of the land will be based on the land, and not the bottom-line only. I would like so strongly to believe that the next generation of management will take this into account, and not just follow models of the recent generations. I am not a forester, I cannot tell or guess yet.

So, tangent above included. Think of dips as advantages. You know that investors certainly do.

The other side of the Dip is accelerating out of it by quitting when the time is right:

According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt – until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it.

Just remember that in the end, shitty times aren’t about how shitty they are: they’re about whatcha do about it!!