Your Quick Fix Happens When You Change Course

So, I have a little confession to make—I arrived to TV’s Shark Tank a little late. I just started watching the show, and it’s amazing. To see people follow their dreams, and hit road bumps, obstacles, nightmares, and in some cases to become huge successes, and to make it entertaining—it’s jam packed with life lessons, cautionary tales, and inspiration to keep your motor going toward your personal goals, and if you have them, business goals. 

One of my favorite stories starts with two gentlemen who came on the show to pitch their personal security app and get a round of money to help the app grow. Of the two men, one was the founder and the money guy who funded the app (up to that point), and the other was the first employee who also happened to be a former police office and also employed previously in the field of security.

Their app was a good idea but it was missing something. The former police officer had some good ideas but they didn’t jump out. The show’s panelists discovered that the founder/money guy paid around 3 million dollars to develop the app up to this point—and overpaid by nearly 2 million dollars.

The panelists’ advice: We’re not giving you any more money than you already have. You don’t need more money to make this thing work. You need more testing. Or you need more sales and if that doesn’t work, you need to stop or rework, also known as a “pivot.”

“Pivoting” is a familiar word in the startup world. When your first business model isn't working (and this happens more often than not), the CEO and team pivot to plan B.* 
*Courtesy Inc.com   

I liked this idea of pivoting because I could see that these guys had a good idea but it wasn’t great and instead of giving up entirely (the easy but painful way out), they could rework it into something that made more sense (the more difficult but ultimately more rewarding path).

I’ve had to pivot in my career with plays and books I’ve written. Relationships. And even my personal life. And each time I’ve pivoted I’ve learned a lot about myself, my surroundings, my relationships, and the field of business I’m employed in/working on/studying.

The way the founder/money guy approached his work (we just need more money and then the app will be great) before coming on the show was similar to the ideology or phrase: “if I had ‘A’ then the rest of my life/my relationship/my company would be amazing and I could have the ‘B’ I always wanted.” Or “I’ll be happy when she falls in love with me/I get a promotion/I move to a new city.”

It’s impossible to be hard-focused on ‘B’ when there are so many uncontrollable variables in life. We need to have back up plans for ‘C,’ ‘D,’ and ‘E’ and make sure we can derive as much fulfillment out of these back up plans as possible. 

All we are in control of is how hard we pursue what we want and what we need for our emotional and physical well-being, as well as our personal happiness. And the best ones in life are the ones who are pivoting on a consistent basis (see: "daily" for all of the variables life brings us.)

What’s something in life/work/business/relationships where you’ve “pivoted” before? What’s something in your world right now where you might need to pivot. Reply here and as always, I’ll keep your answer private. I'd love to hear from you!