The Pivot and The Still-Point à la Tasmanian Devil

The pivot.

All businesses do it at some point or they may perish. Blockbuster had a team researching streaming and was making incredible progress. They also had an opportunity to buy Netflix for pennies on the dollar. The team was disbanded and the acquisition was rejected because they felt their “still-point” was selling candy and treats. The mistake they made was confusing their profit center for their still-point. A still-point is the philosophical center in which a person or a company rotates. I would suggest for Blockbuster, that still-point was to entertain the world, one neighborhood at a time, not sell candy.

("For entertainment purposes, check out this video ad for the last Blockbuster store still open in Bend, Oregon")

For a person, our pivot point is likely the strengths we bring to everything we do, regardless of the job or task.

In my case, my strongest still-point would be Zest which shows up in my enthusiasm, energy, and a perpetual “I’m in” attitude. But also Wisdom including creativity, curiosity, judgment and perspective that helps me rise above the details and see new patterns and opportunities emerging.

Why talk about still-points? Because Coaching By Toby is pivoting around my still-points.

I noticed that I get an incredible amount of delight helping people navigate their challenges, seeing them leverage their own creativity and insight to forge a new path for themselves. And leveraging my Wisdom, I noticed that most of my clients are going or want to go through some form of transition, whether they are getting promoted, want to be promoted and aren’t, looking for a new job or career, attempting to find a new normal after marriage, moving, having kids, going back to work, caring for parents, etc,...

Thus, my marketing efforts are now going to be focused on finding people who want to go through a transition and are stuck, and / or are in the middle of a transition and struggling to navigate through it without a tremendous amount of stress. I call this transition coaching.

I can still help emerging leaders activate their path. I can still help people improve their lives and relationships. My training was “niche-independent”, but helping people find their version of “I’m in” is my focus.

So if you or someone you know wants to change and is stuck or is struggling to navigate through a change, reach out to me at coachingbytoby@gmail.com or schedule a free consultation to talk about how coaching can help you through your change. You will learn about my "What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up" methodology to help you find your pivot point.

*This blog post was inspired by the Taoist story of “The Pivot”, attributed to Chuang Tzu as interpreted by Gary Daynes in this LinkedIn Article