The COVID-19 Pandemic has given us all a crash course in the strategy ‘Pivot’. For those of us in marketing and PR (and likely many other industries as well) we’re used to having to change course quickly and unexpectedly – the pandemic has ratcheted it up to a whole new level.
As an account director working on clients spanning some of Canada’s biggest brands, the pivot has become one of my most important skills. We might not be able to foresee the challenges coming, but we can foresee that there will be a challenge at some point.
As my kids headed back to school last week with a whole new routine and procedure, and changes to how to relate and interact with their peers and teachers (all with the very real possibility that these routines and procedures will likely change again in the near future), I’ve been thinking about what the pivot will look like for my kids, and how some of what I’ve learned over the past few months might be relevant for them as well.
Here are a few lessons from my work life that I’m hoping to teach them:
Remember why you’re here in the first place: Pivoting is hard. We know it can be hugely disappointing to see something you’ve worked hard at need to change. It helps to go back to your core objective – why are you doing this in the first place? At work, this means remembering your target market and thinking about how you want to make them feel. For the kids, it’s about education and socialization so making sure we design the pivot to meet BOTH those needs is really important.
Sometimes the pivot is better than the original plan: This is one of the most important lessons that the pandemic has taught me. From work to personal, the ‘pivot’ has forced a lot of changes to plans and traditions and many have come out better on the other side. I’m going to remind the kids about how trivia night with family across the country was a highlight of our lockdown days and certainly something we hadn’t done before. And for many of our clients, a renewed focus on community reach and giving, versus a harder product sell, has shown how important brand reputation really is in the consumer’s buying decisions.
Communication is always priority: In this virtual world, it’s easy to think that we’re all reading and listening to the same news and getting the same messages. But it’s not always true, and communicating your intentions and plans is even more important. I’ve learned this lesson at work, when half way through a project, the realization that the team isn’t all on the same page on the direction. And I learn it at home every day when I realize the kids are confused because some other government regulation has changed what we’re allowed to do, and I just assumed they get it. Over-communication is key.
This is a skill that will make you better: The adage that nothing worth doing comes easy is particularly true here. We get better by using muscles that need tuning. Learning to be adaptable and creative in hard situations will pay off in spades, both professionally and for our children who are learning adaptability and resilience during these unusual times.
What silver linings have you found in the constant pivot?
