Business Trend 3: Prepare to Pivot

Don’t change what you do, change how you do it. - Shawn Achor

Remember when watching a movie at home meant visiting a video store and perusing the aisles, arguing about what to watch? If you’re old enough to remember that, you will also remember the relief when Netflix started their door-to-door DVD delivery service, long before streaming was accessible to the general public.?

Pivots like this one have become the stuff of legend (and this fascinating keynote), while others have become the stuff of survival, as we’ve seen over the last two years.?

Whether you love the word “pivot” or roll your eyes every time you hear it, the truth is that the success of an organization’s ability to pivot has become an essential element of today’s business strategy.

If this is the case, what are the key ingredients of a successful pivot?

A pivot requires innovation and creativity, as well as the ability to adapt to change, according to our keynote speakers on Change & Innovation.?

According to this excellent article by Harvard Business Review successful pivots are characterized by these three stages:

1. The awareness & mindset to change that must align with what an organization already does and with a current or upcoming trend. An example of this is hotels (private spaces for short term rental) pivoting to remote work spaces (private work spaces).?
2. The pivot relies on existing strengths and capabilities of the firm (hotels have rooms to rent), supporting its strategic intent, and acting as an extension of those abilities (infrastructure already in place to host guests).?
3. Finally, a successful pivot must enhance brand value in the eyes of the consumer, with a goal towards increasing, or at the very least, maintaining, profitability goals (earning from empty rooms).?

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? While some corporations shifted gears with seeming ease - LVMH moving from perfume to sanitizer; Grab, SE Asia’s ride service pivoting to food, grocery and even vaccine delivery, quickly becoming an essential service - others floundered, wondering about the who/what/where/when/how of next steps.?

The evidence of this was clear, with organizations around the world coming to us at The Sweeney Agency asking for keynote speakers who could help them see their business from a new angle to develop new opportunities, markets and ideas; leverage technology to drive profits and create positive cultures; and build stronger client relations in a newly virtual world.?

We’ve widely shared this graphic on the most popular keynote speaking topics in 2019 as compared to 2021. It is very telling when we look at the last two years from the vantage point of change: our clients wanted expertise to help prepare their people to pivot.?

The pivot concept may be the easiest part of the process. Creating the strategy behind the pivot, including people and process can be the more challenging element.?

Consider for a moment the emotions that arise when we think of change in our own lives: fear, uncertainty, doubt, anxiety… the list goes on. When expanded to a larger group, a team at work for instance, those emotions can intensify leading to inaction, bullying, negativity and divisiveness.?

Change is only possible when leaders and teams are able to adopt an agile mindset that allows for a shift in gears to a new perspective. Leaders must communicate the “What’s in it for me?” factor, to fully explain the proposed pivot and help individuals get on board with a new strategy.?

One of the tools that research has shown to be incredibly effective in changing perspectives involves consciously choosing the language around change. The words used to explain and roll out new ideas can be powerful tools to ease transitions and create team cohesion as an organization pivots. And as we’ve seen in the last two years, strong organizational cultures are integral to successful pivots.?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the hand of many organizations, and continues to do so. As we shift from immediate needs (think PPE and sanitizer), organizations are now starting to look longer term: at pivots in manufacturing and sourcing materials due to supply chain issues; sales strategies in a virtual world; and utilizing technology for previously in-house operations.

A concrete fact that we can see from our experience working with Fortune 500 companies over the last 20 years, is that change is now happening faster than ever and the most successful organizations are the ones that learn to harness the winds of change.?

Love Keynote Confidential? We'd love to hear your comments and invite you to share it with your friends and colleagues.

For more information on any of the speakers linked above, please contact me at [email protected] or by phone at 1-866-727-7555.