Creating Shelter in the Storm: Pivoting Your Business in Response to COVID-19

Rob Shelton
April 20, 2020
Blog

(excerpted from business.com article)

This is an extraordinarily difficult time for every organization. The current situation is chaotic, and we are unsure of what lies ahead. For your organization (and almost all others), it means the existing business model has been disrupted – maybe even obliterated – and your cash flow is drying up.

At Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, we’ve been working with organizations around the world to help navigate a way through the crisis. Over the past three weeks, one message has come across loud and clear: Pivoting the business model into survival mode is foremost on the minds of leaders.

Pivots generally carry significant risks, but leadership recognizes that the potential benefits outweigh the risks. For companies looking at defensive pivots, it is clear that changing business models is less risky than doing nothing. This is the situation many organizations face today — inaction will lead to a failed business. This crisis makes defensive pivots essential for many companies.

For more information and my Rapid Pivot Framework, check out these resources:

Tags
covid19, crisis management
Rob Shelton

Rob is a practitioner, coach, speaker, and author on breakthrough innovation, entrepreneurial excellence, and scaling to drive growth. Currently, Rob is an Executive Fellow at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley where he coaches entrepreneurs to scale. Over the past 40 years, Rob has served as a trusted partner and advisor to founders and senior executives at leading organizations around the world. Rob is co-author of two books, most recently The Brilliant Jerk Conundrum: Thriving with and Governing a Dominant Visionary. Rob also co-authored Making Innovation Work. The best-selling book is in its second publication, 14th printing, and has been translated into 10 languages. Rob was designated an Innovation Champion by the World Economic Forum and an invited speaker at Summer Davos, House of Commons, Stanford University, University of California, USC, MIT Media Labs, and Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley.