Pivoting or Staying Nimble

Pivoting. Now there is a popular word in business. Nimble is to.

But pivoting seems to be real popular for the wrong reasons.

Something didn’t go well and you need to explain it away (your response, even the reason it was a disaster) — we were pivoting.

• New product that seems out of place with your core or your vision or a new unexplained brand campaign-PIVOT!
• Radical culture shifts or processes that- PIVOT!

Are you pivoting for a good reason? Like maybe you are -

• Staying ahead of stuff and adapting to changes
• Going with an innovative flow or riding an entrepreneurial hot streak
• Discovering really uncharted territory that no one else found (so you have to at least see what it could be)?
• Maybe you figured out what you’re doing has run its course and to not “pivot” means death.

Or do you simply lack the grit to stick it out until you get it right? Can you just not commit? Is your vision and purpose just mis-aligned and really you have to start over in order to not waste time and resources?

No right answers. And you have to own the outcomes either way.

But before you explain every move with “we’re” pivoting, consider these questions:

1. If we do, what’s the position going to look like that we pivot into?
2. If we do, will we stick to it? Or be “pivoting” again in 3 to 6-months.
3. If we do, will we have any credibility left? Or will Chandler yell at you “Shut Up” “Shut Up” “Shut Up.”
4. If we do, can we even do the next new thing?
5. If we do, will we improve, or have we actually created something new for better or worse; or just new?

Pivoting could create a whole new business that’s worth building while keeping the other one in tact and separate.

It may uncover and expose something that’s not worth pursuing in the first place. Not a bad thing, but not really your intent most likely.

Do you actually need to Pivot and change direction? Or, do just need to do a better job being in the moment and thinking on your feet fast; being nimble.