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One of Seth Godin’s best books is The Dip. It’s quite short, but it introduces us to an important concept.
The Dip is the time when you’ve started doing something, but before you’ve achieved the goal. The dip can vary in duration based on what you’re trying to achieve – some might be only a few minutes, some might last weeks, months, even years.
Seth says that it’s important to assess the size of the dip before you commit – is the outcome worth the length of the dip? If it’s not, don’t do it. If you get to the middle and find the dip is actually a lot longer than you thought, it might be best to quit.
Being able to assess the dips ahead of time is an important tool in our choral tool belt. Here are some activities with dips that you should assess up front, and continue to reassess as you go.
- Starting on that tough new piece.
- Planning a trip.
- Committing to an extra performance (especially relevant come December – how much time does that 20 minute performance actually take?)
- Commissioning a new work.
- Embarking on a recording project.
One of the reasons it’s so important for us as teachers to assess the dip is because our students often can’t. They often have no idea of the chasm they have to cross to, say, perfect the Byrd Haec Dies. It’s up to us to present the challenge appropriately up front, and then help them through the dip, when it feels hopeless.
It’s tip jar week here at jedscott.com. Read more here or click here to chip in!