Pivot

I learned a valuable lesson while listening to a highly successful local business woman speak and it involved the word “pivot.”  I didn’t fully appreciate the meaning behind the word and it’s impact until sometime later.

In the business world, or life for that matter, change is a constant.  Some change is for the good and some for the not so good.  If we look at many of the larger companies today and their history, we will find that each encountered numerous changes, both good and bad.  Change that came in the form of:

  • Leadership
  • Economy
  • New Product
  • Mergers
  • Competition
  • Technology
  • Target Market
  • Social Media

And the list could go on and on.  The companies that were successful when confronted with change decided that it was important to pivot.   In other words, they realized that they needed to navigate around this obstacle versus completely altering their course altogether.

In basketball, pivot means keeping one foot in place while the other foot takes a step in another direction.  The player is still driving to the basket but he or she needs to maneuver around a defensive player to make it happen.

In business, the pivot may have involved a difficult decision, the embracing of a new trend, searching for new opportunities, diversifying, or reclaiming a niche.  Either way, when these forks in the road present themselves, and they will, we have a decision to make.  Will we pivot and make the necessary adjustments quickly; will we squander precious time debating which direction to take; or will we choose to ignore it and continue in the business as usual mindset?

Keep it targeted.