An article about cutting edge business buzz words in yesterday’s Des Moines Register gave me an entirely new outlook about change. The story explained why the business world prefers the word pivot to change this way:
When things didn’t go well, it used to be that you would have to change. But that word sounds so negative, doesn’t it? Instead just pivot. If you lost your job, you might say, ‘I was a teacher, but I’ve pivoted into fast-food service.
Wow! By changing one little word, people can eliminate negativity in their personal lives, too. Here are a few ideas:
- No need for man or critter to complain about the past weekend’s cold snap and hard frost. Next time the deer along the walking trail stand with hooves planted in the frosty grass, their sides shivering with cold, just say, “Looks like the weather’s pivoting into winter.” Nothing like positive buzz words to warm a body up.
- I can tell Hiram, “Let’s pivot the furniture in the living room,” or “The weather’s pivoting, so we need to lug the flowerpots from the porch all the way upstairs,” and the man of steel will want to do it, what with all the negativity taken out of the pivoting process.
- When I look in the mirror and see more grey hairs, I can say, “Why Jolene, you’re pivoting into a new look.”
- Likewise, my recently acquired status as grandparent can be considered a pivot into maturity.
- Pounds gained from overeating during the upcoming holidays will be a pivot into a new wardrobe.
This word has pivoted my attitude toward change. The other words on the biz buzzword list – crowd funding, showrooming, cloud (as in the internet), BYOD (bring your own device), data mining, freemium (use this one quickly as it’s on the way out), social and mobile (for pitching business ideas), and lean start up – not so much.
But that’s okay. Adding one new buzz word to my vocabulary is all the pivoting I can handle. Though it’s important to make the pivot quickly ’cause you know what they say. The only constant is pivoting so get used to it.
Hmmm…oes that sound right to you?
