Knowing when to quit

Should you ever quit? If you read self-help, business, or history books, you will almost certainly have read Winston Churchill’s quote – “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never.” Churchill spoke these words in his second address to Harrow School in 1941. It certainly is an inspiring quote and one I have printed off and framed in a little plaque on my desk. If ever I am flagging, I just look down at this quote and the bulldog features of Britain’s finest stare back at me. I somehow find the resolve I need to follow through with whatever endeavour I am struggling.

What many people do not realise is that there is a second part to this quote. A second sentence, which gives it wisdom as well as courage.
The complete quote is “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

Except to convictions of honour and good sense.

What does this mean?

If you suspect your undertaking goes against your values, you would be wise to quit. What values? Well that is up to you my friend. You will know what your values are, deep in your core. The single-minded executive who misses his children growing up will need to ask himself, would it be wiser to quit, downgrade or postpone his goal.

What about the up and coming corporate star, whose company’s values do not align with hers. Should she ignore what she sees as exploitation of their customers? Or, should she quit?
What about the entrepreneur ploughing a lone furrow in a non-existent market, where all the data is screaming that there is no need for his product or service?

Sometimes good sense tells you it is time to quit.
There is such a thing as beginners luck in any endeavour. It occurs when the participant is unconsciously incompetent. This is a way of saying that they unaware of what they do not know. Has this ever happened to you? Did you ever win money the first time you gambled? Did you plop the ball square onto the green in your first golf game? Or, did one of your first cold calls result in an appointment? This is a real phenomenon and happens because the novice will take action without fear. Ignorance is bliss.

However, what does this have to do with quitting? Well, if you are considering whether to quit something, think back to when you first started the endeavour. Was there any beginner’s luck. Was there anything that could suggest that you could eventually be successful? If yes, you should be encouraged. If no, then consider whether to quit your course of action.

To quit or retreat.

Sometimes the market is not ready for your service or product. That is not to say that it will not be ready in the future. Sometimes it is prudent to park your idea until when your intuition tells you to try again.

What should you quit?

Go getting entrepreneurs hate the terms failure and quitting. However, if you have done your due diligence and market research and your beta model does not gain any interest, then quit. If you want you can always tell people you are pivoting! Or, you could tweak it; yes, you could try again with a new iteration. Just don’t keep doing the same thing if feedback is telling you it isn’t working.

Clear away the clutter

Do you have several projects or goals? My bet is that most of your good results will be coming from just one activity. Why not quit the others to concentrate on the one thing that will move you forward. There is a great book about this called The One Thing by Gary Keller, in which the author talks about just focusing on the most productive goal, project or task. You can decide what your One Thing is by asking this question: “What is the one thing I can do, such that, all other things will be easier or unnecessary?”

To sum up Churchill’s quote, you should never quit your dreams and goals, but you should be flexible in your plans. Be prepared to quit a project if it is not moving you towards your long term vision.

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