Kare Partners

Emerson – “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…”

Consistency - stick-to-itiveness – not quitting…all good…seems obvious, right?  I’d like to carefully and humbly suggest that while hard work and staying the course is often the best thing to do, it’s not always the best thing to do.

Like nearly all Americans I was taught the Puritan work ethic that says – don’t quit ever and if it’s not working you’re just not trying hard enough. While this is very valuable, and has done amazing things for this great country, it’s not always the right thing to do.

A couple of years ago I read a book by Seth Godin called The Dip. The point was to figure out if what you’re experiencing in business, or any sustained endeavor, is a dip before that big upsurge or a bottomless abyss. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. The point is it’s better to quit something sooner if it is an endeavor that won’t ever work out. Of course the trick is in figuring out which one it is, right?

Here’s a personal confession:  In my youth and as a younger adult I suffered from the disease of quitting too early when it came to certain endeavors. I started more things than most people, admirable, and probably finished more as well – because of the exaggerated number of starts. However, many things that I was probably capable of I stopped pursuing. So in my mind, I had left some successes on the table so to speak.

A few years ago I determined to fix this personality flaw once and for all. I even handwrote a note that said, “I’m not stopping this time” and put it in a place I would see it whenever things became difficult in my business. I never persevered through difficulty so well! But guess what? The business I was laboring so tirelessly in was taken down completely by the macro environment producing what was for me a colossal business failure. Wow – so timing does matter. The truth is we never know for sure whether we’re stuck in a cul-de-sac or just around the bend from our dreams. The lesson I gleaned was a painful one.   

So while quitting is not always the answer – neither is endless commitment. Failing quickly and moving on is a proven winner. Just ask Richard Branson – of Virgin fame – who has numerous successful mega-businesses but has failed at literally hundreds of attempts. The lesson I took was perseverance and consistency of effort is key – and always advisable – but tactics and the choosing of pursuits should be malleable. Otherwise we may be paying too much in opportunity cost.