When to pivot and when to stay the course

- It's seldom a straight road from new idea to massive success. And one of the hardest things for any entrepreneur is to know when to pivot and when to stay the course. It's like when you're sailing. You're always speeding up, slowing down, avoiding rough water, and maybe waiting out the storm, even if the destination remains constant. But there are times when you have to make a major course correction or even decide instead of Florida to aim for South Carolina. Sometimes the changes are small and sometimes they require a full pivot in direction. 3M entrepreneur Dr. Spencer Silver was trying to develop a super strong adhesive when he accidentally created a lightly sticky substance that left no residue. He could've tossed it in the garbage and stayed focused on his official goal, super strong adhesive, but he saw the potential and created Post-it Notes. Instead of a single-minded focus on one goal, he stayed curious and interested and saw potential in what was accidentally created. Botox was originally developed to cure headaches when the researchers noticed the smooth, youthful look that was a byproduct of the treatment. It's about working with what you have and being open to possibility rather than insisting that the world be as you want it to be. Buddhists call it beginner's mind. Improv players talk about Yes, And. Yes, And is the idea that you take what you're given and instead of saying, "No, I wanted something else," you say yes to it, then add your own twist. For example, if you wanna go for ice cream and I suggest a movie, you might say, "Yes, let's go to a movie and get ice cream after." Or if we're making up a story and I'm thinking about a Western but you suggest a musical about a mouse living in Paris, instead of just putting a cowboy hat on the mouse, I go with your idea and build on it. This approach is great in brainstorming, because instead of closing people off, it opens them up to new possibilities they hadn't considered. You might also pivot if you see that your idea, even a good one, isn't getting support from the organization, like if you have an idea that would only work in Asia but your business isn't entering Asia for at least 18 months. But sometimes your manager or investors are not in a Yes, And mindset, so when you share your idea, they try to pus you into a different idea that they've been exploring, even if it's not a good fit, like if they just went to a virtual reality conference and you suggest a new Chinese fast food concept and they want you to make the restaurants a virtual reality play place. Interesting, but unlikely to work. You need to push back, but be respectful at the same time. It's really about having an audience that seems likely to want what you're offering. Product/market fit is always at the core, and if you don't see a fit, you need to try something else. If you do see evidence of fit, keep pushing forward. The ability to know when to listen and learn, when to build on the ideas of others, and when to stay with the original concept and continue building on a promising idea is critical. In fact, many serial entrepreneurs get to a point where organizations or investors are willing to bet on the jockey and simply invest in certain people and trust that they have a good process for developing ideas that markets want. The key is to having lots of little ideas that you're always testing and exploring. That way your hit rate will be high and your ego won't be tied to your one idea developing exactly as you'd imagined it. Flexibility and a willingness to pivot is going to help you be a successful serial idea person.