I was not much of a basketball player, but man did I love the game. I always loved the ability to pivot and change the situation from that simplistic move. The pivot creates opportunities……..opens holes that are closed……creates opportunities that seize to exist…….and changes the game in a split second. This article is not about the pivot on a basketball court, but rather how they pertain to a business or board room with some folks at the top or bottom of a company. Or really how the pivot is used in daily life.

Business use to run like a well-oiled machine, however that has changed which has changed the game. Margins are smaller….investments into infrastructure have grown……..clients are scarce……resources lack……ideas are running out……time to pivot! The company experiences extreme growth…….profits soar……..demand goes up……financing is scarce………the demand is too much…..time to pivot! Employees are at odds with awful management………managers have no clue how to manage………executives are more concerned about flying in the corporate jet than employees happiness…….health insurance costs go up and quality goes down……time to pivot! Well, there are so many reasons to pivot and there are reasons to remain in the very same position. When things feel right you can hold off on the pivot and stay in one place. Be firm when things feel right…..and move with caution when the pivot needs to occur……..but be calculated.

In life we pivot all the time to keep things moving forward and headed in northerly directions. Relationships breakdown…….money gets low…..friends lack being good friends……marriage hits turmoil……we begin to pivot. This pivot thing is all around us yet we talk about it on a basketball court way too often. I think we are all pivoting all the time and so unaware of it and the great meaning it carries off the court.

The great thing is we all have the tool to pivot when necessary. Do we all use  this tool we all share? I don’t think so. Some of us pivot to please others, but do we pivot when it truly makes sense for our own sanity. I choose to pivot for my family and their comfort and for myself. I also pivot to help others and really don’t want any form of recognition. Who do you pivot for and why?

By Bradley D. Weisman
bweisman@inthesport.net www.inthesport.net
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