How to pivot in an uncertain world

The Daily Drip

I'm noticing lots of people and businesses "pivoting" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People are saying "we make widgets, but for the next year, we're making facemasks."

I would like to clear up the language around what a pivot is.

In basketball, a pivot is when you have one foot planted and the other foot rotates around it. It gives you 360 degrees of visibility without really changing your position on the court.

You are stuck in one place, but you can still move and create new options in the play.

Here's an example of a pivot in business:

When Instagram got started, they were another social media app like Facebook. They had all kinds of features and all kinds of visions for how the company might compete in the social media market.

The leadership talked to the team about the features and which ones were most used.

It turned out that people mostly logged into Instagram because they liked posting photos. This wasn't always the case. They had the photos feature for a long time, but it wasn't until they added the "filters" feature that people really started using Instagram as the best place to post photos.

Photos shined better on Instagram than any other place, so that's where people when to post them.

Instagram's CEO decided to pivot.

Instead of doing lots of things, they were going to focus on improving the experience of posting and sharing photos. This is when Instagram became Instagram.

They had a position on the court. They swiveled to evaluate options. They chose their play. They executed.

That's a pivot.

A pivot IS NOT:

Let's quit our consulting business and open a bowling alley.

A pivot is using your current, fixed position to make a better choice than you could have while moving.

How does this relate to what's happening in the world right now?

Use your current resources and strengths to double down on what is actually moving the needle.

Take the extra second to stop full-speed motion and evaluate your options.

Choose a path that will allow you to answer the call of "what does the world need" while also leveraging your strengths.

If you overlap "what the world needs" with "what is good for you" you can't go wrong.