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Strategic Pivots Are Not Just For Startups

When it comes to business pivots, the only difference between a large corporation and a startup is that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Much is being written these days on entrepreneurship and pivoting. Pivoting refers to making a change in direction following validated feedback from your customers and marketplace and taking the new product or service into a different direction. For this reason, these pivots result in a change in the startup’s business model. Examples of companies that successfully pivoted include Groupon, Twitter, Flickr, and PayPal.

But pivoting is not relegated to the startup world. The challenge for established corporations is that for them, pivoting typically involves a shift in the business strategy. Examples of large established corporations that have pivoted include IBM, HP, Starbucks, Sony, and Nokia. Corporations that do not encourage their leaders to be on the lookout for possible pivots are doomed to extinction. After all, how many examples exist of companies that made that mistake: Polaroid? Woolworths? Eastern Airlines? Atari?

Successful corporate pivots require:

  1. a strong and cohesive leadership team,

  2. a corporate culture that welcomes debate and opposing views,

  3. strong marketplace knowledge that keeps you informed of trends,

  4. unparalleled customer intimacy to identify unmet needs,

  5. being at the forefront of technology trends that can transform your industry,and

  6. a well articulated plan to execute the corporate strategic pivot.

Regardless of the size of your company, a business pivot requires courage and conviction.

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