BUSINESS SURVIVAL
How Small Adjustments In Your Business Strategy Will Keep You In The Game
You don’t need major pivots to see results
Our disheartening news cycle has turned me into an escapist who thrives on NCAA Men’s Basketball’s March Madness. There are so many good stories to follow, so many coaches that lead in different ways, and so many young athletes that are fully invested.
But I had an interesting take-away in a recent game that had nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with business. The tenth-seeded Miami Hurricanes were taking on one-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, and as one would expect, Miami was a huge underdog. At half-time, though, Miami was leading by 6 points, which made me, a fan of all underdogs, quite happy.
Not so fast, though, because the second half told another story. Kansas, a solid and perennial contender, used its experience to make some small adjustments. After half-time, the Jayhawks came out raging, going on a 14-to-5 run, and they never looked back. Final score: 76–50.
Their small adjustments related to doing the basics better: defense, rebounding, picking up the game tempo, and deploying their biggest players — nothing fancy or even highly strategic, but solid game-changers.
And so I thought, “Small adjustments are key to everything,” but as is usually the case, my mind drifted to business — my business.
Small adjustments versus pivots
Small adjustments are different than pivots. Pivots are typically dramatic and set you off in a different direction. Adjustments are small, incremental, not seeming particularly impactful, and yet they are.
Here are some examples of pivots that were large and critical during the time of Covid:
- French perfume companies transitioned to hand sanitizers.
- IBM transitioned to a permanent model where 20% of its workforce permanently works from home. This makes some employees happier and has resulted in $50 million in savings in real estate and office costs. Compare this to Goldman Sachs, which has issued an edict to return to the office five days per week. That’s a pivot of a different kind. IBM…