The concept of pivoting was defined in class yesterday. To me it was new to me as a term, but not as an idea. I can use the analogy of a secret crush: when you’re in a deep committed friendship with someone, but secretly wish you could be something more. Or as my generation calls it: the Friend zone. It is extremely difficult to change directions, from friend to lover. It comes with confusion and miscommunications, misunderstanding that a chat over coffee was actually a “date”. Many who have tried to break through the friend zone have failed.
A recent success story however, would have to be Tangerine. (Or if you can remember a firm called ING Direct). It was purchased by Scotia Bank in 2012 and in the last two years went through a rapid but well organized rebranding. The Financial Post’s Mitchel Osak dives into the complications that came with the pivot, and differentiates creating a good plan, and executing one successfully. Tangerine broke through the friend zone in less than 18 months, a feat many companies can only fantasize about.
Photo from The Food Network.