Seth Godin writes short books. Not much bull, gets right to the point. Check out his blog and podcast.
Here is a graph of “the dip”

You have to get through the dip to become number one.
The important part is to be able to differentiate the dip from the cul-de-sac or the cliff.

A few other highlights of the book:
- Be the best in the world but realize : Best is subjective. I (the consumer) get to decide, not you. World is selfish. It’s my definition, not yours. It’s the world I define, based on my convenience or my preferences. Bet the best in my world and you have me, at a premium, right now.
- The lie of diversification: A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner.
- Decide in advance when to quit!
The biggest lie:

Buy the book. It is worth it!