Pivot Fatigue
I wrote last week about how small businesses can find the New Normal. In that, I mentioned that there is a danger for small companies chasing “false positives” as they try to get ahead of market changes.
I’m now seeing another dynamic show up in small businesses – pivot fatigue. Technology has driven the speed of everything faster – faster than we humans are built to handle. Pre-crisis, we had “human-based” patterns that counter-balanced that tech-driven urgency, so we knew that we should get that planning doc or performance review done this week, but it was probably OK if it waited until next week.
We don’t have those patterns built for a COVID world, and we are tied to our tech more than ever, and our business model probably isn't working as well as it used to. Enter the tsunami of info about pivots, mostly telling us that the time to pivot is now. (Or, I should say, NOW!!!!!)
So, a lot of business leaders (myself included) are sprinting into their pivots…when the unfortunate truth for many of us is that it’s actually a marathon.
The result: pivot fatigue.
You thought and brainstormed and talked and assessed and planned and rebuilt and created and launched! The creative energy we unleashed was amazing. But...you're not much closer now to a profitable business model than you were before all that sprinting.
I’ve had a number of business owners over the last 3 weeks say to me, “I just feel like there's more I should be doing.” Technology creates a feeling in most people that I should do more and I should be more. FOMO.
I think, for better and for worse, that if you were running a pretty good business pretty well before the crisis – which is most business leaders – you’re probably doing the best you can just by doing the things you are doing, and by being the person and leader you are.
Does that mean you'll be successful? Unfortunately, none of us know how this thing is going to play out. That's the ugly truth of leading a small business during the massive disruption of a pandemic.
Chances are your pivot is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint. Plan accordingly…
Regional Sales Manager, CEAS
4 年We're changing from our track shoes into jogging shoes for the long haul marathon.