Basketball players pivot on one foot so they can move their body around to see in all directions. But if they lift up their pivot foot it’s a traveling violation and the ball is turned over to the other team.
Many businesses have needed to pivot due to Covid-19, some have done it successfully, some have lifted their foot, and some have not done anything different.
At the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club last week our speaker was Joe Fugere, founder of Tutta Bella. He talked about how they’ve pivoted to more takeout, delivery, a streamlined menu, and a partnership with QFC. The latter has them in over 30 QFC stores with a “take and go” section of their foods, which has been so successful they’ve expanded their Bellevue location’s kitchen to cover the demand.
Starbucks has pivoted. A mailer from Fred Meyer last week featured some new products including Cold Brew coffee concentrate and Fresh Brew Cup, which are airtight sealed cans of ground coffee, each making 4-6 cups. They’ve recognized it’s going to be a while before customers flock back to their shops so they’re making it easier to have their product at home.
On a larger scale, big pharma companies are pivoting away from their normal pricing to cutting deals with the government for Covid vaccines at a lower price than they would get on the open market. Just imagine the bad PR if they didn’t pivot on this issue.
If your business hasn’t been affected by Covid, you’re lucky. If it has, what have you been doing? Or, perhaps a better question is, what should you be doing?
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” George Eliot
