Pivot

by Jenny Blake

  Do not expect courage to rain down from the sky before you make a move. It comes from taking action. Courage will not arrive in full before your launch; it will appear afterward, when the confidence from making a life-changing decision settles in. Because of how true this is in my life, one of my mottos is “Build first, courage second.” The more courageous action you take connected with your vision and values, the more confident you will feel along the way.

  By following the Pivot Method, you have reduced your risk, planned intelligently for a number of potential outcomes, and narrowed options for what to do next and when. This chapter covers criteria you can review to reach a decision about your Launch threshold and timing. Although you may not be able to predict a precise Launch outcome, you can put as much into your own hands as possible to steer in that direction.

  IDENTIFY YOUR LAUNCH TIMING CRITERIA

  One of the biggest questions that troubles people during a pivot is “How do I know when it is time to launch?” The answer will be different for everyone, but there are general indicators for how you will know when to promote one of your pilots to a full-blown launch.

  First, clarify your Launch timing criteria as objectively as possible. This will allow you to observe your pilots and detect when you are making true progress toward a bigger decision. You will have a clearer idea for when to launch based on reaching certain thresholds, and will know when you need to adjust if your experiments are not going as planned.

  Below is an overview of common Launch decision-making criteria, including financial benchmarks, date-based timing, progress milestones, gut instinct, and choices that hinge on other people.

  Note the factors that matter most to you, then rank that list in order of importance: critical “must-haves” for your decision, “nice to haves,” and “don’t matter.” You might also identify a range for each, from minimum needed to ideal. If you have a strong reaction against one of the best practices I suggest, fantastic! That will provide key information about what you want instead.

  Financial Benchmarks

  Money saved (Pivot runway): Ideally, you should have at least six months of savings to see you through a launch. Make sure that leaving your current job or clients will not send you into your panic zone due to financial stress. Ensure that you have enough financial runway to buy time to generate momentum in your new direction.

  Money earned (When my side hustle earns X dollars or more): Although your side hustle earnings may not yet equal your salary, analyze their likelihood of generating cash flow. Can they realistically provide you with recurring income? If not, it is probably a riskier gamble and should remain a side hustle.

  Stay until OBO (Or Better Offer): Only change if a more enticing offer appears.

  Specific size compensation: When considering competing offers, does the new offer match or exceed your current financial package? What is your minimum threshold for accepting another offer? What is your ideal offer? If a new offer provides exciting growth opportunity but lower pay, is that trade-off worth it to you? Can it provide other benefits such as more vacation time, flexible hours, or remote workdays to make up for the lower salary?

  Financial incentive tied to a date (When I get my bonus, or when this deal goes through): Although you will want to consider if you are leaving unrealized gains on the table (something I cover in more detail at the end of this chapter), if you have a bonus coming that you have worked hard to earn all year, it behooves you to stay to receive it. However, be wary of ever-escalating incentives presented just often enough to get you to stay, but mask that you are unhappy and ready for something new. Some impacters have recently started a family, have vesting stock options, are paying or saving for kids’ education, or are nearing retirement, so they choose to stay for years longer than they might have earlier in their careers. As long as you know why you are staying, and what is most important to you, you can see your current employer or biggest client as a partner in your larger goal, not a hindrance. The point is not to get stuck in misery quicksand—unhappy, but not willing to forgo the incentives and make a change. If you stay, know why and adjust your attitude accordingly.

  Outside funding approved (When I get a bank or family loan, or venture capital or angel funding): I encourage you to consider whether you really need funding or a loan to proceed, or whether it is a form of procrastination or if-then linear thinking. If you were forced to bootstrap with just a thousand dollars, what would you do?

  Tom Meitner was in a job he was overqualified for—answering customer service e-mails—and working the second shift. His wife, Amanda, worked at the same company, on the first shift. Newly married, they rarely saw each other or ate dinner together. They vowed to change the situation, no matter how precarious it felt financially.

  Getting clear on their financial benchmarks and deadlines were the determining factors that led Tom from piloting to launching. He describes the moment he made the decision to start his own business: “One night, I walked in the door at 10:30 P.M., just getting home from work. My wife, Amanda, looked me straight in the eye as I greeted her and said, ‘What would it take for you to replace this income and go off on your own?’”

  Tom told Amanda what he would have to do: make a list of three hundred companies that might hire him to do copywriting, then send e-mails and make phone calls until he had at least $2,500 a month in steady work coming in, which he estimated would take one month.

  Within three weeks, Tom landed three clients at a baseline income of $3,000. Although it was doing search engine optimization work, not the type of copywriting he was most excited about, Tom raised his rates and shifted the nature of his work to direct-response copywriting with every subsequent client. He transitioned from struggling employee to freelance copywriter making six figures a year and working from home most days.

  Now, in addition to copywriting, Tom is piloting a side hustle that he hopes will be his primary source of income someday: an online magazine for men to help “new grads and new dads take control of their lives.”

  Date-Based Timing

  Complete and launch X project at work: If you are on a team and have been working on a big project, it is important to see it through, for yourself as part of your results capital, and for the team you committed to, so that you do not burn bridges by leaving others in the lurch. That said, sometimes projects take years to complete; it may not make sense to stay too far beyond the point you are ready to leave, which could also impact the team negatively if you are already mentally checked out. In that case, identify the work milestones that you can complete, and clearly document your role and any unfinished business to ease the transition for others.

  Take X months to explore, or take a sabbatical: It is inefficient for your mind to circle the same question repeatedly each day during your exploration phase. If you are scanning, scan. If you are piloting, pilot. Do not simultaneously examine, every day, whether it is time to launch or not. I often help my clients take the pressure off by saying, “You are not even allowed to think about a decision for the next two weeks. Give yourself that time off, then we can revisit it together.” Buy yourself time to breathe by setting a future date when you will revisit the do-or-don’t-launch question.

  Make a Launch decision by X date: Having a firm “zero-hour” deadline can be freeing, and an important way to inspire action, knowing that you may never feel fully ready. There are several aspects to a big change: making the decision, communicating it, and carrying it out. Reduce overwhelm by separating these three elements. Giving yourself a deadline to decide, without yet worrying about how you will communicate it or when, can make the decision itself easier.

  Make the move by X date or leave no later than X: Once your mind is made up, it is time to take action. Set a deadline for when you will launch.

  Date-based timing is usually paired with other factors, particularly financial. Many pivoters first decide what other criteria
impact their decision; then by giving themselves a deadline they become clear on when to make it happen.

  After a decade of climbing the ranks in a large technology company, Brian Jones, who you met in the introduction, decided to leave the organization, whether or not he had another offer in hand. He had enough savings to take at least one year off, if that is what he decided to do. He would either enjoy time to explore a range of interests, or, if he found another position during the time off that was a great fit, he would be happy taking that route, too. Once he was clear on his decision to leave, no matter which of the two paths worked out, he gave himself a deadline to resign after the holidays.

  Progress Milestones

  Build X prototype in my business: Complete a project milestone that is a critical precursor to launch.

  Land X new clients: Indicates that the new direction is viable and income generating.

  Planning readiness: Have all the steps in place and know the ideal outcomes and make-or-break markers in worst-case scenarios.

  Platform reaches a certain size: Will lead to more opportunities and connections.

  These items add a layer of depth and specificity to the financial and date-based criteria. One of the biggest safety nets when launching is the size of your platform and the reach of your reputation. The more robust and public your profile, either within your company or outside of it (or both), the more likely that opportunities will find you. You might consider waiting to launch until your platform reaches a certain size, or until you already have a certain volume of incoming leads. This can take the form of calls from recruiters if you are looking to switch companies, or client inquiries for those who are self-employed or want to be.

  I encourage you to consider whether the items in this section carry enough weight to influence your decision, or whether they are delay tactics. Sometimes they represent a means to an end, but not the end itself. For example: What would the business prototype help you achieve or understand? Does the number of new clients really matter, or is it the monthly income target you are aiming to hit? Do you have to have a better offer in place first, or will making a decision now open up new opportunities? Will you ever feel fully ready in your planning, or are you getting mired in minutiae? The questions in this section may represent must-have criteria for you, but be real with yourself about where they fall on the scale from scrappy and lean to perfectionist procrastination.

  Jennie Nash went from being a self-described mid-list writer to book coach with a booming business. She was teaching writing part time at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and students were constantly asking her if she did one-on-one consulting. Because she wasn’t sure what she could offer, she turned them away. Then one day a colleague praised her for her strategic, process-oriented approach and asked for her help on a book project. Something clicked. Suddenly Jennie saw how she could add value for aspiring authors.

  After the success of that first project, she changed the title on her website from “Author Jennie Nash” to “Jennie Nash, Book Coach.” Although this was a small pilot, it had important implications. “It was a way of giving myself permission to do something new,” Jennie said.

  She took a class in small-business strategy, a scanning move, and learned how to price her services to attract the right clients and hit her income targets. Armed with a clear vision for her new business and the tools to make it happen, Jennie began saying yes to incoming clients, and her success snowballed.

  Upon reflection, Jennie expressed a sentiment similar to many people on the other side of their pivot: “It turns out that everything I have done in my life prepared me for what I am now doing. I just had no idea it was happening.”

  Even more interesting, and also quite common, it was her biggest disappointment that led her in this new direction. “The failure of my so-called Big Book freed me,” Jennie says. “It was a horrible time, but it allowed me to stop and look around at what was rather than what might one day be.” For Jennie, it was the demand for her expertise that informed her decision, not the other way around.

  Instinct/Intuition

  Gut feeling: “I’m ready” or “I will know when I am ready.”

  Maxed out: “I am miserable.” “Any change is better than this.” “It is no longer healthy for me to stay.”

  Gave the current gig my all: “I know I tried everything I could.”

  Willing to go all out: “I am ready to give this next thing everything I’ve got, no matter what happens.” “To try and risk failure is more important than not trying at all.”

  What struck me as particularly interesting in the interviews I conducted was how many people said that, in the end, their decision came down to physical cues. They would get a gut feeling (often the first physical indicator that something needed to give), or if they didn’t heed those warnings, their health declined until their body started screaming to make a change.

  At a certain point, many people “just knew” it was time, either because their health was deteriorating and stress levels were skyrocketing or because the new direction beckoned them to the exciting edge of their stretch zone and no longer induced panic. Their Launch decision was so connected with their vision that they were willing to risk failure. As you get more skilled at maintaining a Pivot mindset, you will not need to wait until your body cries out for help to make the necessary changes.

  Peter Carr was twenty-five years old and thought he had landed his dream job in sports video production. However, when he got there, the job and working conditions were far from ideal; he was working over eighty hours a week, and quickly realized it was not a sustainable lifestyle, nor could he see a happy future there. “I knew I was at a pivot point because I was miserable, and my body was telling me what my mind didn’t want to accept: that it was time for a change and time for me to take a risk,” he said.

  Peter looked around at his coworkers and saw that they were stressed and overworked and did not have time for their families. At that point he decided that if he were to put in the long hours, he would rather be working for himself building a company that would help others, or find more aligned full-time work.

  “Without having a terrible experience in what I dreamed of doing since I was a child, I would not have taken the risk to pivot my career,” he said.

  Peter’s physical cues—seeing how coworkers’ lifestyles conflicted with his values, and listening to his gut instincts—sparked his move. This pivot also motivated a complete turnaround in his fitness and work habits. In the following year, he traveled to more than thirty-seven cities and ran over thirty races, honoring his values of travel and living a healthy lifestyle, and meeting his one-year vision of completing an Ironman 70.3 competition.

  In Others’ Hands

  “Gatekeeper” industry approval or offer: You get a book deal, music contract, or grant funding.

  Acceptance in an application-only program: You have been accepted by a graduate school, the Peace Corps, Teach for America, or a start-up incubator or accelerator.

  Partner earns X or completes Y: Your partner gets promoted at work, finishes graduate school, or finds another job.

  Awaiting full agreement or support from partner and/or other family members.

  Some big decisions lie outside of our immediate control, particularly if we are waiting to hear back from a job interview, a graduate school application, or any other program with limited acceptance. If you are waiting, stay actively engaged in earlier Pivot exercises.

  Consider:

  What is my backup plan? If I do not get the offer or acceptance letter, what would I pursue? Scan for and explore options as you wait for a response.

  What pilots can I run while waiting that will continue to move me forward, or address these same values and vision elements?

  What is my waiting deadline, after which point I will pursue other options? How will I know when I have waited t
oo long?

  In the event that your original plan does not pan out, consider that rejection is often a blessing in disguise, prompting an even more creative approach forward.

  Tara Decoda was a hairstylist living in New York City. After cosmetology school, she assisted at a number of high-end salons before applying to work at Glamsquad, an on-demand beauty services company. Glamsquad rejected her application twice, which was confusing because Tara always received rave reviews from her clients.

  A few months after the rejections, she put her own twist on the motto “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Tara declared with conviction, “If you can’t join ’em, beat ’em,” and launched her own company, Blow On The Go. Soon after, she added a line of natural, handmade hair products called Bare Mane as an extension of her main business. After nearly two years of running Blow On The Go, she pivoted the business once more, to focus on lash extensions.

  On what excites her most about Plush Lash, the new direction, Tara said, “I wanted to rebrand myself as a beauty aficionado and not just a hairstylist, so that I can share my overall beauty industry expertise through more than one avenue. Establishing myself as an expert across various trades in the field allows this.” Tara continues to shape her services in a way that resonates with her values and the client experience she believes busy women are looking for. Her talent for doing a bang-up job keeps people coming back, with word-of-mouth marketing working in her favor.