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When It's Time to Pivot

For those of you that have read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, the terms MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and pivot will be all too familiar.

The idea behind a MVP is that you create something quickly that validates your hypotheses behind the product that you are developing.

If you are like me and have worked in large organizations, the idea of a MVP is terminology repeated but never digested. You either build Frankenstein or you don't. By the time your Frankenstein of a product is developed and deployed, it's NOTHING like what you envisioned. 

You are just happy that you got it to work. 

The other term, pivot, refers to the point where you realize that it's time to change direction and do something different. Here are a number of examples of famous pivots. 

All of which make sense because these companies went on to become success stories. Nobody remembers the companies that pivoted to their day of doom. 

When you think pivot, think Andy Grove during his time at Intel, 

I looked out the window at the Ferris wheel of the Great America amusement park revolving in the distance, then I turned back to Gordon and I asked, “If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think he would do?” Gordon answered without hesitation, “He would get us out of memories.” I stared at him, numb, then said, “Why shouldn’t you and I walk out the door, come back and do it ourselves? - Only The Paranoid Survive, Andy Grove

If you are in any position of leadership or management - project or product or otherwise, ask yourself the question each day. "If I got kicked out and my client or company decided to bring in someone new, what do you think they would do?" 

The answer may get you to pivot a lot faster. 

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