When you hear the word “pivot” – what comes to mind?
If you grew up playing basketball (or went to countless games to cheer on your best friend, as I did), the word inspires an image of players moving from one place to another on the court, opposing teams in motion, bodies positioned and ready to accept the ball and send it through the air to the basket. The goal never changes; the aim is always to score. But how many times does a single player have to pivot their stance throughout a game to put themselves in the best possible position? (You know it, and I know it.) Many times. Every player on a team has to continually make small, calculated changes throughout the game to work together as a whole and, ultimately, aim to win. The players pivot their bodies in response to their circumstances, but the goal never changes.
Author and startup guru Eric Ries says, “A pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision. You cannot have a pivot without vision (that’s just wandering around).” While “pivot” has become a part of that eye-roll-inducing corporate slang of the 2020s (along with the overused “circle back,” strangely ambiguous “ping,” and cringe “drill down”), I still find the idea helpful to maintain focus, and ward against a fear of failure. We can think about a pivot in a vocational or career sense, of course, but we can also use this to benefit our families, relationships, and personal goals. Let me explain by sharing some of my personal “failures” and how I’m learning to embrace the pivot.
Around a decade ago, I decided to fold a growing career as a media makeup artist to return to school to study theology…
Read more over at The Conservateur.
Article first published Feb. 7, 2024 on theconservateur.com
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