Philip D. Bennett: The pivot – Making Opportunities of Your Obstacles

1. The Pivot – Making Opportunities of Your Obstacles BY PHILIP BENNETT @philipdbennett

2. Picture a long, straight road stretched out in front of you. You’re jogging along at a healthy pace when out of nowhere, a large barrier appears just up ahead, blocking your path completely. Without skipping a beat, you change direction slightly and go around the obstacle. • The path is smooth for a while, but before long, a new barrier comes into view — and you deftly manoeuvre around it. • You don’t have to be a track and field star to understand what’s going on here. As you’re move toward your destination, you’re prepared to sidestep obstacles that appear. Each time you encounter something that blocks your way, you don’t give up — you simply change direction, and keep moving forward. • This is the pivot.

3. What it Means to Pivot • Once upon a time, personal computers were the wave of the future. Bill Gates famously made it his company’s vision to have “a computer on every desk and in every home.” • Similarly, Apple made a splash when it introduced the Macintosh. In fact, at its founding, the full name of Steve Jobs’ company was “Apple Computer.” • But as you’ve probably noticed, a lot has changed since the 1980s. Most people and companies still use computers, but personal computers are no longer a focal point for growth and innovation.

4. Case in point? An announcement at Macworld Expo 2007, when Apple famously dropped the “Computer” from its name and became Apple Inc. This change coincided with the release of Apple’s iPhone, a moment when Apple dove headfirst into a brand-new industry, and arguably away from the computers that made it famous. • Microsoft has undergone a similar transition. No longer focused on desktop PCs, much is being made of the company’s cloud business and Surface tablets, as well as its Windows 10 OS appearing across all of the computers, gaming consoles, and mobile devices it sells.

5. Whether you’re looking at smartphones, cloud computing, or tablets, there’s no question that technology companies have had to evolve and adapt over the years. “When innovation and consumer sentiment open up new market opportunities, Apple and Microsoft have always been at the forefront. • This is what pivoting is all about.

6. Some companies start with one product and end up selling a very different one. For example, Starbucks began by selling espresso machines before creating the chain coffee shop, and Nintendo started out as a card company that eventually got into the electronic games business. • Air BnB attributed its success to the pivot and listed it as an effective way to growth hack. The company had started out as a bed and breakfast before inventing a whole new industry.

7. What Pivoting Isn’t • As a general rule, a pivot isn’t as extreme as selling vacuum cleaners one day and offering business consulting the next. Instead, it’s about experimentation with your business model, finding related products or services to introduce, and packaging what you sell in new ways. • Generally a pivot is in order when the market starts to leave a particular way of doing business behind in favor of new avenues. Pivoting is what protects a company from the age old problem of “There is no problem to solve”.

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9. In the early 60s gathering information may have been an issue – libraries and archives were the only recourse. But fast forward to 2017 and there are dozens of apps out there to help you manage “info overload” and distractions. • A brand that wanted to make information the domain of the common man in the 1960s still has a problem to tackle today. And the problem is the glut of data which prevents people from processing and using the intelligence at their fingertips.

10. “ So pivoting isn’t about tossing your original mission, vision, or values. It’s essence lies in working the same customer base and changing solutions to keep pace with shifting priorities.

11. As an entertainment company, Nintendo is still satisfying its evangelists with great products, even though Nintendo Switch and Zelda games are quite different from hanafuda cards. • You must accept that shifting focus is no longer a crazy idea in business — it’s now essential to success. Every industry is at risk of undergoing rapid change. In fact, some problems that once existed are completely resolved by technology. Kodak learned this lesson the hard way when it refused to adapt to digital camera technology in favor of its old-fashioned film business. • If you aren’t prepared to adapt to change by pivoting, you just might succumb to it.

12. When to Pivot in Business?  • Knowing when to pivot is a lot easier said than done. One important step is staying in touch with your customers and your industry. If you track data and conduct surveys, you may be able to detect anomalies that help you pivot. • For example, does it seem like your customers are responding differently to sales pitches? Do you hear a particular complaint coming up again and again? What are the most prominent news items in your industry? • Keeping your ear to the ground will help you detect new opportunities and stay relevant in the marketplace. This is key, because when a new opportunity comes along, you must be ready to act. • As for how to pivot, this is largely dependent on your niche and your research.

13. Ask yourself the following questions: “ What problems are gradually replacing the pain points we served? “ What are our buyers expecting in the solutions to these new issues? “ Is a solution that is in alignment with our purpose, mission and vision feasible? “ Do we have the resources to develop it? “What can be the marketing mix – product, price, placement & positioning for this solution?

14. The answers should give you a framework that you can use to create a prototype, gauge demand, monitor trends and pivot when the time is right. • In my latest book “Prosperity Found in Ps” I discuss the importance of the pivot in business and how this valuable behavior actually complements persistence and the drive to move forward.

15. Thank You!