Mastering the Pivot

What do Play-Doh, Nintendo, and YouTube have in common? They are all great case studies that prove agility and pivoting are crucial factors for success. Inspired by each of these stories, I will highlight them quickly.

Play-Doh: Did you know that Play-Doh started as a Kutol cleaning paste? In the early 1900s, people used this clay-like product to remove coal soot from wallpaper. When households switched from coal heat to cleaner energy sources, this product became obsolete. Fortunately for Kutol, one of the directors' wives had a brilliant idea. Kay Zufall, a preschool teacher, suggested making the Kutol paste into a kids' toy after reading how some students used it to make models. She tested the product with her classroom, and it was a success. The kids loved this exciting new toy. Due to this pivot, Play-Doh is still a well-known name today.

What I especially love about the Play-Doh case is that Kay utilized each aspect of the innovation method long before it was ever a published method, and she did so in a space where women weren't typically welcomed in business. What a cool lady.

Nintendo: Nintendo is a household name known for providing family-friendly video game entertainment. However, since its inception in the 1900s, Nintendo has had several pivot attempts before becoming the giant we know today. It began in the 1900s as Japan's largest playing card company. By the 1960s, the organization attempted several ventures to achieve growth, such as taxis, ramen noodles, instant rice, and even a TV network.

After several failed attempts to expand into new markets, Nintendo found success in games and electronic toys. This pivot paved the way for its iconic arcade games in the 1980s, such as Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Soon after, Nintendo created in-home gaming consoles like the Game Boy and the Nintendo64. In 2018, Nintendo reported an astonishing $10 billion in profit. Not bad for a card company established in the 1900s.

YouTube: YouTube was first envisioned as a dating site named "Tune In Hook Up." Personalized videos could be posted by users attempting to find 'the one,' but this concept was a failure. The pivot came when the founders realized users had better ideas of what to post. When users began posting silly videos or other important content, YouTube was born. This pivot was instrumental in creating the video-sharing platform we all know today.

Stay Agile, Pivot, and Innovate

A simple Google search reveals that many successful products we know today started as something else, maintained agility, pivoted, and found new success. So, what are the keys to maintaining a culture of agility?

Fall in love with the problem, not your solution. We are all prideful beings. So, find your pride and confidence in understanding your customer so well that you don't care if you flop ten service offerings before you land on success. You can shift your mindset by retraining yourself to see that offering a product or service that no one buys is an opportunity, not a failure. Use that opportunity to relearn, adjust, and pivot toward something that better captures your target market's needs.

My parents owned a framing company growing up. During economic downturns, my dad would pivot his offerings to home improvements because the demand for new builds would halt. While everyone else was competing on a low-cost basis for the limited tenders available, he was happily making money by building dream decks or remodelling bathrooms. Pivoting = Success.

Get into the practice of keeping an idea journal. Force yourself to come up with a random idea each day. I like to focus on writing down problems I encounter or witness others encountering. Focusing on problems allows me to stay in line with the first point. The KFC guy was 62 by the time he started. I don't want to start that old, so I keep a journal of every idea I have or problem I see.

Don't be afraid to experiment. In the Play-Doh example, we see how Kay used experimenting to confirm whether or not her hypothesis—that kids would like playing with paste—was true. In this case, her hypothesis was correct. But there is a reason people suggest 'failing fast'. The quicker you fail, the quicker you can move on, and the less it costs (usually). Don't miss out on an opportunity to experiment before you invest.

Create a culture of innovation. Understanding the innovator's model is a great place to start. Notice how the business model is the last process? That's because, in innovation, there are many considerations before you even begin thinking about the business opportunity. So, take the money and logistics out of the equation. If I've learned one thing from business planning, it's that you can usually find a way to make money as long as your idea is solid. Focus on that later. First, make sure you have a rock-solid product or service that solves a consumer problem(s) and is based on great insight.

This was a long one. But if you're interested in more practical tips to remain agile in this changing market, comment below. I'd love to share more.