Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

by Jenny Blake

each time expanding what he calls his sphere of influence.

“By examining your sphere of influence, you have the ability to quantify what you are doing every day,”

“The world becomes smaller when you increase your circle and make that happen.

Change does not happen in isolation.

there are three types of people: givers, takers, and matchers.

Impacters, though driven strongly by their own learning and curiosity, are givers at heart.

Approach those you are intrigued by, and make a point to include people who are doing work that seems only tangentially related to what you are currently doing or might want to pursue.

the worst someone can say is no. A no is almost never personal to you.

Find people in roles that interest you, whom you could ask about their daily experiences, perhaps even by shadowing them for a day or more.

Make three wish lists of people you admire: These are people with whom you want to develop deeper relationships. Consider: Strongest Ties: People you already know; connection is already warm; the person is likely to be responsive and willing to help. 50/50: People you know loosely or through one or two degrees of separation; you could be introduced through your network; the person might respond to an e-mail or call request. Long Shots: People you do not know, and with whom direct connection would be difficult; “big fish” who, if they said yes, you would be ridiculously excited to speak with. To quote Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance!”

E-mail three people from the lists above: Ask if you can speak with them for twenty minutes, or even send one short question via e-mail to start. Mention why you admire them, and why their specific advice would be helpful for you. The key here is making it easy for recipients to say yes.

ask open-ended questions, and let the other person do most of the talking.

You can ask if there are any key resources that were particularly helpful, and if there is anyone else you should speak with.

Respect the time parameters you set: Do not go past your scheduled time.

Thank you, Part 1: Send a note describing what specific advice resonated, and the impact the conversation had on you.

Thank you, Part 2: Do something with their advice! Take action. Report back with a progress update on specific steps you took as a result of your talk.

The lead biker or bird is doing the hardest work, while the others flock closely behind to reduce their drag and the energy needed to achieve the same speed.

Think of someone further along in their career, either in your industry or the one you may want to be in, who is doing what you are hoping to achieve, and ask if you can help with any overflow he or she does not have the time or desire to tackle.

“a rising tide lifts all boats.”

you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

if you do not have friends that inspire you and help you expand, it is time to add new ones.

opportunity to provide mutual value.

Set a goal to meet with one or two interesting peers every week.

Potluck Picnics in Prospect Park, and I encourage invitees to bring others. This allows us to casually connect with old friends and make new ones, all over low-key conversation and delicious food.

weekly or biweekly calls with one or two friends who are doing similar work or who share similar goals.

Choose one or two other people whose skills and goals complement each other. Set up a recurring day and time for your calls. I prefer forty-five minutes every other week, though some mastermind groups do ninety minutes or more. Start each call by each doing a check-in: talk about a high, low, and something you learned since you last spoke. And share any big wins to help celebrate each other’s successes! Take turns with a focused brainstorm: succinctly describe one challenge each person is facing, minimizing backstory, and brainstorm with the group for ten to fifteen minutes. Rotate as time allows. When closing, have each person identify one or two next steps to take before the next call. On a monthly or quarterly basis, set higher-level goals and reflect on the previous period.

Would I still be willing to work with them if we are technically competing for the same type of client?

“The principle of reciprocal transformation says that one person’s growth is another’s,”

developing mutually beneficial, resonant relationships that do not feel like work; ones that bring you energy, ideas, and connections and vice versa.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. —Neil Gaiman

You can accelerate how quickly you spot skills that are needed, and how rapidly you learn them.

start closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to end up, as outlined in your one-year vision.

you will need to increase your skills or knowledge to plug these gaps and further refine your vision.

set a learning strategy by identifying what you don’t know.

Identify areas where you want to increase your skills, expertise, reputation, and network.

Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning, Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Chef, and Josh Kaufman’s The First 20 Hours

What’s the question that hasn’t been asked?”

List your three biggest Pivot concerns, then rewrite them as “Yes, and” statements.

“The secret is to take yourself to the edge of frustration, then stop. Go until your brain can’t take it anymore, then change the subject. Take your mind off the problem.”

first observe the “lived experience” and use that to make conclusions, which may or may not clash with existing theories.

I needed to use my version of grounded theory to focus on others’ needs, not my business: put my ear to the ground first, then create something valuable based on what my new community at JennyBlake.me would find most helpful.

“What is your biggest challenge at the moment?” and “What can I create for you this year?”

private online community called Momentum, where impacters could exchange ideas, tools, and connections to further their creative goals—aided by my templates, courses, live workshops, and support.

Investigative Pivot Listening 1. Identify your ideal audience: the people or companies that you would like to learn more about. 2. Formulate a few key questions to ask this population: Examples that work well across the board are: What are your current challenges? Where are you heading? What do you want to create or do next? What does success look like? How will you know when you get there? 3. Deploy your listening tool or research method: It may be casting a wide net by creating a survey that you send to friends, coworkers, or your community, or it may be starting in a more intimate way by setting up conversations, or a combination of both. In the design-thinking community, these conversations are called empathy interviews, and refer to finding out as much as possible about potential customers’ experiences with a given topic or environment, even if you do not ask directly about your product or services. 4. Gather data and parse key themes: Whether you send a survey or meet with people face-to-face, collect all your notes in one place. What are the common threads among the responses? What are the biggest challenges for the people you care about? How might these tie in with the strengths and interests you identified in the Plant stage? 5. Identify small next steps: Based on your active listening, what next steps could you take? Are you ready to start prototyping, or piloting, a potential solution, or do you want to conduct another round of research? You might do both simult...

there is no such thing as safety or security, and in fact, most of the joys of human life are lovable because they are changing.

focus your energy on how you spot skills that are needed,

the fundamental metrics of our economy have changed, saying, “More and more what we care about in the second machine age are ideas, not things . . . interactions, not transactions.”

Strategic thinking, ideation, curiosity, and combinatorial innovation:

The ability to become “superstars” through reputation, platform, and leverage:

shift from our role as knowledge workers into relationship workers.