My top takeaways from a life of pivots
Whether you're planning a pivot or not, it's pretty good advice!
February, aka Pivot Month, is wrapping up at Optionality.
and I talked a lot about our personal pivots for a #Conversationality a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I’d do a good old-fashioned listicle of the top takeaways I carry with me from my life of pivoting.What kind of pivots have I had? Big ones:
Career #1: Professional actress/singer.
Career #2: Commodities industry, first as a trading assistant, then doing accounting for traders.
Career #3: Product management and product marketing in high-tech, in the cable telecom hardware vertical.
Career #4: One of the earliest consultants helping companies use blogs and online communities for marketing purposes.
Career #5: BlogHer…a venture-backed digital media company.
Career #6: Everything since BlogHer…writing, speaking, coaching consulting, and now Optionality.
What holds true across all those pivots, whether early or later in my career, whether jumping industries or business models or technologies? These nuggets…I hope they’re helpful, and I’d love to hear what you’d add.
The practical stuff: Save like you know what your big idea is, or like you’re about to get laid off. After a certain amount to fulfill your basic life needs, the data show that money does not buy happiness, but it does buy you freedom. During the Silicon Valley boom times, I knew lots of people who over-leveraged their lives. During the bust, they were married to jobs they hated because they were married to their mortgages. I’ve always been a saver and conservative spender. That served me in the good times when I’ve had something I really wanted to do. It also served me when I was miserable, and all I wanted was to walk away. After the umpteenth layoff at one of my jobs, I was convinced I’d get the ax (and the package they were still offering), I found I was still employed at the end of it all. I spent all weekend being depressed I “had to go back,” until I stopped and asked myself, “Do you have to go back?” With six months worth of take-home pay in the bank and no wild and crazy recurring expenses, the answer was no, I did not have to. The rest is history…I struck out on my own into Career #4 above.
A growth mindset lasts a lifetime: When I was 26 I decided that the thing I’d been single-mindedly focused on (an acting/singing career) was not the thing I wanted to pursue full time anymore. I had no back-up plan. I got a job through my network and then something really important happened: I learned that I can learn. I learned to do things and know things that I previously couldn't do at all and knew nothing about. I could become good at those things. The fact is that there are very few professions that exist where what you learn in school remains all you need to know. Most people who are ten years out of school are doing things they learned on the job. Have faith in yourself and your basic smarts.
I always say, you’re much more likely to discover that you don’t like doing something than that you are incapable of learning how to do it.
Mr. Rogers was right…look for the helpers: When I got into tech I knew nothing about the technologies my company built. Luckily one of the product managers sat down with me and white boarded the basics. He taught me both tech and product management-related skills because he wanted help. He knew the tech inside and out, but I was a pretty good writer. He helped me, and I helped him. When I moved on to a new company in the same industry but whose tech was different, I looked for someone to white board me the basics. In most places, you can find people who love what they do so much that they would love to explain it to you. They'll never stop being intrigued by their job, and the fact that you're expressing interest is exciting to them. Ask the questions; find the helpers.
Don’t be afraid of a step back: When I knew wanted to exit the commodities industry (it was based in Chicago and NYC, and in pre-remote work times I had no interest in moving), I decided tech was the path to advancement and a growth career in Silicon Valley. Problem being I knew nothing about tech. So, again leveraging my network, I got a job as an admin in the Marketing department of a hardware company. I was already way past admin level in my current industry, and yes, I took a step back in both title and even salary, but the upside potential was both immediate and (better benefits, stock options, etc.) and long-term. Now, I absolutely focused on doing a great job at the job I had, and I forged strong relationships. All of which would help me get the job I next wanted.
We get so used to thinking a career trajectory must always move up and to the right, ever advancing, ever more money, title, status, or you’re just wasting your potential. But sometimes, your path can be more windy short-term in order satisfy a different goal, move closer to your purpose, or make a pivot easier to execute. Don’t be afraid to step back…you control the narrative about each move you make. Tell the story of your bigger vision.
I experienced my first big pivot as a 20-something, and it taught me to value feeling comfortable with a beginner’s mindset and taught me that the opportunity to keep learning and growing is never over. To this day, it’s useful to remind myself: I can learn. I can adapt. I can pivot. I can make trade-offs.
You probably can too! You probably already have. Tell us…