Plan to Pivot
Written by Dr. Karen Smith, PhD
“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley,” (Burns).
Word on the street is people are tired of the word pivot. Buzzy for a moment, but that moment has passed. More accurately, what I’ve heard people say is “I hate the word pivot, but…” This suggests that despite the tired trendiness of the word, there might be something to this pivoting thing after all. A recent vacation experience convinced me – you might say forced me – to seriously consider the value, and the challenge, of the pivot.
My daughter and I had been repeatedly planning and postponing a trip abroad to walk the West Highland Way (a 96-mile trail through the stunning Scottish Highlands) for the last three years. We optimistically committed to going this past August. We trained over a series of months, working up to walking 15 miles per day. We bought a lot of gear and then strategized on how to pack it most efficiently in case any of our luggage got lost. I made detailed contingency plans for the care of my elderly parents, enlisting friends, neighbors, and distant relatives as back-up helpers in my absence. I am a planner, and I planned for every potential need, down to bug netting, rain gear, blister-prevention products, first aid supplies, and high protein snacks.
You can probably guess what happened, because you likely heard other stories like mine this summer. We came down with Covid on Day 3 of our two-week trip, and never set foot on the trail we had traveled to Scotland to hike. In an instant, our meticulous plans had to be scrapped and we were faced with a series of difficult choices with no good options. I had to put aside my hurt feelings, disappointment, and frustration so that I could focus on the problem at hand and set new priorities: our health, safety, and early return home.
I had to pivot.
As defined in the Cambridge English dictionary, pivot as a verb means to turn or twist. As a noun, it means a fixed point that supports something that turns or balances. In business, a pivot is a fundamental change in direction when current practices, services, or products are not meeting the needs of the market. Pivoting is often not fun. It is a disruption. It requires that we adjust our expectations and recalibrate our direction. It sets us on an unknown path.
If you are a planner, you are probably uncomfortable with the unknown. If you are a seeker, maybe you have less trouble pivoting. Either way, it can be a challenge to know when it’s time to change direction.
At work, what are the signs that the plan you are following is in need of revision? In your career, when should you stop pressing forward and, instead, step back and reconsider where you’re going and how you’re trying to get there? When might it be okay to give up and give in to the need for a change?
Here are a few clues that you may want to consider a pivot for yourself and/or your work team:
You’re feeling bored, disengaged, or stagnant. You and your team are going through the motions rather than moving ahead.
The people you serve aren’t satisfied with the service or product you provide. Business is falling off or going elsewhere.
What used to work isn’t working anymore. Problems and complaints are on the rise.
You’re spending too much time putting out fires and not enough time growing the forest.
You are experiencing high turnover in your unit or department.
Despite these warning signs, you and your colleagues might feel overwhelmed by the idea of making a fundamental change. Some of us prefer an established plan to a leap into the unknown. Nevertheless, do what you can to resist the urge to resist. Allow yourself to consider the opportunities that change might bring. When you stop thinking that you know “the way'' and start exploring uncharted paths, your creativity kicks in. When you let go of certainty, new possibilities present themselves. As the Scottish say, “Keep the heid!” (Stay calm!) and get curious about what might be over the horizon.
Leadership requires us to be alert to those unpredictable moments when the need for change announces itself. Do what you can to stay open to those moments so that you can help yourself and others respond with curiosity and creativity. Part of your plan should include being ready for the pivot, because if we’ve learned nothing else over the past few years, it’s that, as the Scottish Bard Robert Burns points out, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men” can go awry (Burns).
Citation:
Burns, Robert. “To a Mouse, on Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November, 1785.” 1785. Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43816/to-a-mouse-56d222ab36e33. Accessed 2 November 2022.