Expert’s Innovative Strategy of Pivoting to Meet Consumer Needs

Pivoting as a Way of Life by Joseph Hanna

It’s the consummate pivot, exemplified, in all places, in a television series. Schitt’s Creek follows the trials and tribulations of the formerly wealthy Rose family. After their business manager embezzles the family business, the family loses its fortune and relocates to Schitt’s Creek, a town they once purchased as a joke. Now living in a motel, the family must adjust to life without wealth. 

The show has received much critical acclaim and numerous awards. But not for the Art of the Pivot. That’s a topic for others to dissect, notably innovator and product guru Joseph Hanna in his complex yet highly readable new book, Pivoting as a Way of Life: Stop Chasing Unicorns and Product-Market Fit.

So obsessed with the topic, Hanna believes, “The only thing that matters is your ability and velocity to pivot, infinitely.”

Working Alongside a Changing Environment

The book takes a very granular look at product management, innovation and entrepreneurship, arguing that product-market “fit” is not as crucial as recognizing constantly changing dynamics and customer needs. Like sailors navigating ever-changing seas, corporate leaders must be equipped with strategies and processes to shift gears on demand.

“Pivoting” in business terms is commonly associated with a change of plan to correct a strategy gone off course – that is, a negative. Yet Hanna believes that pivoting, as the book title implies, is a way of life in today’s product management equation – not an “evil” but a necessary, proactive strategy to stay ahead of the curve and not just catch up with it. In today’s modern-day world, Hanna explains, companies need to be constantly pivoting.

If there’s one technology that bangs that point over one’s head, it’s the emergence of artificial intelligence, which by itself is changing all the rules about processes and operations. Hanna shows how to embrace AI and integrate it into product development and streamline innovation processes.

Well-Researched With Corporate Anecdotes

What makes Pivoting as a Way of Life different from other business books is Hanna’s use of popular films, TV shows (yes, “Schitt’s Creek”), and sports references to help readers grasp some not-so-sexy business operations concepts. The author also peppers readers with real-life anecdotes and stories from his own experiences in corporate environments.

So how does one define “pivoting,” find the optimum time to do it and plan the execution?

Hanna introduces readers to his Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM), a program of universal applicability that challenges the traditional emphasis on static execution. PLOM offers repeatable and measurable frameworks with defined roles, responsibilities, processes, tools, and success metrics for the innovation process. It breaks down every topic of concern: innovation, product management, development, go-to-market, growth, funding, migrations, expansion and more.

Resilience Leads to Continuous Growth

In Pivoting as a Way of Life, Joseph Hanna provides readers with a roadmap for building organizations that are not only resilient but positioned for continuous growth.

In his Epilogue, Hanna quotes the Dutch soccer player and manager Johan Cruyff in saying, “There’s only one moment in which you can arrive in time. If you’re not there, you’re either too early or too late.”

The time to act with an intelligent, comprehensive pivoting strategy, the author says, is now.

“In sharing this operating model,” writes Hanna, “my goal is to inspire a movement – a fundamental shift in some of the established norms within our industry,”