The Open Palm Mindset

Pivot Power

Some of your greatest opportunities will come to you after unexpected change. Will you be ready to take full advantage of the new opportunities being presented to you? That all depends on your ability to pivot. This certainly has been a theme for my own life.

What does Pivot Power mean?

It means being able to let go of:

• Old Plans - things you were planning to do
• Grievances - things you wish others had or hadn't done,
• Regrets - things you wish you had or had not done

It means being open:

• Recognizing you don't know everything
• Being curious and ready to learn or re-learn
• Plunging into what's next

When life brings you unexpected change, letting go of the old and embracing the new is the key to moving to the next level.

What's the thought that makes this doable?

An Open Palm

Pivot power, being able to pivot quickly and gracefully comes with a mindset. At the heart of this mindset is a simple lesson that my Dad told me when I was a kid. I never forgot it.

You have to understand something about my Dad. When he was 17, he left his home in Ohio, hitchhiked out west and spent a number of years working as a cowboy at various ranches. The photo of him below was taken sometime during this period of his life. Living in the elements and dealing with the sometimes harsh and unforgiving realities of life on the open range - not to mention its colorful characters - taught him ways of thinking that he carried for the rest of his life.

One of them was a simple thought that is the secret to pivot power. He told me this:

"Hold the things of this life in an open palm. Because if you try to grab onto them, they grab you back...and take away your freedom."

It's some of the wisest and most useful advice I've ever heard.

The Open Palm Mindset

Handling change in a positive and proactive way, rather than becoming overwhelmed or resistant to it, starts with that open palm mindset. The realization that whatever you have, could be taken from you at any time. Its related to the truth that everything we have is given to us for a little while. We will eventually relinquish it all.

With an open palm mindset you'll be able to pivot quickly and gracefully from one career chapter to the next opportunity. You'll be open to new ideas and ways of thinking, ready to build new relationships, while also being willing to lean on those who are there to support you through the transition.

When to persist vs when to pivot

To be clear, this isn't the same thing as "giving up too easily". Here's the difference:

• When something is truly taken away, its time to pivot.
• When when something is waiting for you to complete a required set of learning and work, its time to persist.

You'll know the difference.

Putting it all together

Being able to pivot quickly and gracefully from one career chapter to the next opportunity requires a combination of adaptability, networking, and strong communication skills. But it all becomes doable with that "open palm mindset."

What may seem like the end of your greatest days, can be just the beginning of even greater ones.

This is one reason why S3T is so focused on helping you stay informed about emerging opportunities and giving you ways to articulate the value you'll bring to those new opportunity spaces. This helps you connect your skills and experiences to the needs of new potential employers or clients.

Click here to go to the next learning segment: Change Leadership Mindset: Life as a Tapestry

Embracing the multi-threaded nature of life is especially vital for change leaders who must often juggle responsibilities for today's operations, while designing and building the capabilities of tomorrow.