Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

274 Pages·2016·3.42 MB·English

by  Jenny Blake

“Pivot is a book you will turn to again and again, whether you’re seeking a new
career direction, a second career after retirement, or just on the lookout for new
ways to use your talents. Jenny Blake takes a strength-based approach to
managing the risk that comes with making a change, and provides tons of
helpful examples and exercises.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive
“Nontraditional career journeys are not only the new normal, they’re how
innovators throughout history changed their world and ours. With actionable
insights and lucid prose, Jenny Blake illuminates the path to building your own
destiny.”
—Shane Snow, author of Smartcuts and cofounder of Contently
“Wondering what your next move is? Read this book! Jenny Blake is one of the
wisest and freshest voices on the subject of career development, and this is her
best work yet. In Pivot, you will hear the good news: that you can get paid to do
what you love. It may not look like what you thought, and it may require some
personal growth, but you can find the work you were meant to do. You just
have to pivot.”
—Jeff Goins, author of The Art of Work
“Are the tectonic plates below your sturdy career suddenly splitting into a deep
abyss of unknown? Let this book be your rope ladder out.”
—Neil Pasricha, author of The Happiness Equation and the 1,000 Awesome Things blog
“If you think life is a highway, then you’ve got it wrong. It’s more like a
winding path through an unpredictable forest. Not only do you have to wade the
swamp and battle the beasts, but time after time you come to a crossroads. Left?
Right? Straight ahead? Jenny Blake’s new book will help you find the wisdom
and resources to make the best choices, move into the sunlight, and end up
where you want to be.”
—Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit and Do More Great Work
“We live in a time of rapid evolution, and we develop skills quickly now by
absorbing many shorter term work experiences, so we can become what Jenny
Blake calls impacters in our careers. This book gives you a solid roadmap to
making the right call about career changes that will help you discover what
you’re truly built for. Courage, consciousness, and competence—that’s what
Pivot offers you. It’s excellent!”
—Penney Peirce, author of The Intuitive Way, Frequency, and Leap of Perception
“The book is fantastic. No matter where you are in your career, Pivot is
provokingly relevant.”
—Dr. Tom Guarriello, founder of RoboPsych and founding faculty at New York’s School of
Visual Arts, Masters in Branding
“Today, the average person has eleven jobs and three to six careers, which is
why Pivot is essential reading for every professional. Let Jenny be your coach,
giving you the confidence and tools required to make your next career
transition. Whether you’re an employee, freelancer, or entrepreneur, this book
will help you identify the skills you have or need that will lead to your next
opportunity. Jenny has been through career transitions and has successfully
navigated them on her own, which makes her the perfect spokesperson for
helping you do the same. Pivot is the book that you’ll need to read multiple
times through your life because change is constant and often times unexpected!”
—Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0
“Whether you’re considering a career change or job change, or figuring out what
to do next, Jenny Blake’s Pivot is the book you need. It’s a comprehensive,
practical, must-have guide to your pivot.”
—Susan RoAne, keynote speaker and author of How to Work a Room

Portfolio / Penguin
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2016 by Jenny Blake
Illustrations by ABC Design Lab, copyright © 2016 by Jenny Blake.
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech,
and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying
with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without
permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Names: Blake, Jenny, author.
Title: Pivot : the only move that matters is your next one / Jenny Blake.
Description: New York : Portfolio, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016011437 | ISBN 9781591848202 (hardback) | ISBN 9780698406704 (ebook) | ISBN
9780399564383 (international edition) Subjects: LCSH: Career development. | Career changes. | BISAC:
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS Careers General. | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Motivational.
Classification: LCC HF5381 .B455 2016 | DDC 650.14—dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016011437
Version_1
To my grandma Janice Deino, who pivoted her entire life at eighty years
old with strength and grace. You are an unwavering source of support and
inspiration, and the most agile, resilient person I know. Thank you for
everything.
How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the
beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last
moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives
are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and
brave. . . .
So you must not be frightened . . . if a sadness rises up before
you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light
and cloud-shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do.
You must think that something is happening with you, that life has
not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you
fall.
—Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
CONTENTS
Praise for Pivot
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
INTRODUCTION: PIVOT IS THE NEW NORMAL
Pivot or Get Pivoted
Changing Careers in the Age of the App
Connect the Dots Looking Backward
Pivot Method at a Glance
HIGH NET GROWTH
Career Operating Modes
Trust Your Risk Tolerance
Two (Many) Steps Ahead, One Step Back
STAGE ONE: PLANT
PLANT OVERVIEW
CHAPTER 1: CALIBRATE YOUR COMPASS
What Are Your Guiding Principles? What Is Your Happiness Formula?
Create Your Compass
Identify Your Happiness Formula
Your Body Is Your Business
Reduce Decision Fatigue
Meditate to Activate Your Best Instincts
CHAPTER 2: PUT A PIN IN IT
What Excites You Most? What Does Success Look Like One Year from Now?
Avoid the Tyranny of the Hows
Vision Cloudy? Start Somewhere.
Clarify Your Vision Statement
Summarize Knowns and Unknowns
CHAPTER 3: FUEL YOUR ENGINE
What Is Working? Where Do You Excel?
Identify Your Strengths
Work-History Highlights
CHAPTER 4: FUND YOUR RUNWAY
What Is Your Timeline? How Can You Earn Extra Income?
Build a Solid Financial Foundation
Pivot Finance 101
Income-Anxiety Seesaw Awareness
STAGE TWO: SCAN
SCAN OVERVIEW
CHAPTER 5: BOLSTER YOUR BENCH
Who Do You Already Know? Who Can Provide Advice? What Can You Give in Return?
Expand Your Sphere of Influence
Build a Network of Collective Brainpower
Career Karma: Seek Reciprocal Success
CHAPTER 6: BRIDGE THE GAPS
What Skills and Expertise Will Take You to the Next Level?
Mind the Gap
Learn How to Learn
Limit Linear Thinking
Investigative Listening
Be Discerning About Your Learning
CHAPTER 7: MAKE YOURSELF DISCOVERABLE
How Can You Add Unique Value and Build Visibility?
Define Your Project-Based Purpose
Platform and Leverage
Revel in the Work Others Reject
Leapfrog: Work Backward from Two Moves Ahead
Let Others Know You Are Looking
STAGE THREE: PILOT
PILOT OVERVIEW
CHAPTER 8: GET SCRAPPY
What Small Experiments Can You Run? What Real-World Data Can You Collect?
Aim First for Quantity, Not Quality
What Makes a Strong Pilot?
Incremental Pilots Within Organizations
Reduce Risk with Redundancy
Travel Pilots to Shake Up Stagnant Thinking
CHAPTER 9: PAUSE, REVIEW, REPEAT
What Worked? What Didn’t? What Could You Do Differently?
Pause and Review
Take Incrementally Bigger Risks