Volume XXII, Number 50 (Issue 1106) | December 9, 2024
Perfect the Pivot
“Pivot” is so embedded in today’s management speak that it has achieved the same dubious distinction as “think outside the box,” “circle the wagons,” and “put a pin in it.” So, it was during a recent conversation with the CEO of one of our clients that my ears immediately latched onto the phrase “perfect the pivot” when she used it in reference to one of her organization’s 2025 operational initiatives.
When I inquired about the term’s origin, she replied she heard it for the first time when her CFO used it in the course of a recent management team meeting. Not satisfied there, at the first opportunity I asked the CFO about her knowledge of the term. Was it something she coined or something she had read or heard? She stated she could not remember when or where she had heard the term. Thus, at the first opportunity I did a Google search. Based on that search, its origin is unclear. Should you know its source I would love to learn what you know. Failing that, I must conclude that Heather Shannon gave it life.
In any event, I think it worth another paragraph or two for us to consider the implications of “perfect the pivot.” These days people and organizations find it necessary on occasion to pivot away from the current heading in favor of a different course. Our hope in making that adjustment is to reach our end goal. And yet, the act of changing our heading is seldom all there is to it. The message and imagery of “perfecting the pivot” (reaching our goal more efficiently) should be a constant reminder to all of us that changes, be they large or small, can benefit from fine tuning along the way.
Put differently, course changes or “pivots” as we now call them should not require a second or third pivot – at least not in the short-term – provided they are well-reasoned. However, that does not mean that most pivots could not use an adjustment or two since our knowledge at the time of the pivot is seldom complete, let alone perfect. Embrace the change!
Soli Deo Gloria
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.” Jeremiah 7:3-7
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210)260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
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