Pivot Book Summary - Pivot Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

Pivot summary

Jenny Blake

The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

4.2 (73 ratings)
25 mins
Table of Contents

    Pivot
    Summary of 8 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 8

    Changing career paths is becoming increasingly common and isn’t something to be afraid of.

    We all know the feeling: you’re stuck in a rut in your job, but you’re too scared to switch things up and get out. After all, it might well put your finances at risk. Perhaps your family and friends have expressed concern at your desire to change tracks. They might even say it’s some sort of age-related crisis.

    But guess what? It’s perfectly normal for you to feel that way.

    These days, it’s quite normal to have multiple careers. Few people stay at the same company for their entire working lives before retiring – things just don’t work that way anymore.

    In fact, the average American employee stays in one position for just four to five years.

    Adam Chaloeicheep is a case in point. Chaloeicheep was once creative director of a real estate development company in Chicago, but, burnt out, he left his job and headed off to Thailand to study meditation.

    Eight months later he was back. His mind was clear. His passions for fashion, technology, entrepreneurship and brand strategy would now guide him. He went back to school to broaden his skill set and then started his own company, ABC Design Lab. Fulfillment and financial success followed soon after.

    Yes, Chaloeicheep’s story is a little on the extreme side. But it’s indicative of a broader trend.

    A recent Gallup poll showed that up to 90 percent of employees are either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” from their jobs. It’s no great surprise, then, that people are on the lookout for new opportunities.

    Crises that make you look elsewhere are in no way voluntary. But you can use that same outward-looking mentality to make a deliberate career shift in a new direction. It’s known as a career pivot, and to do it, you don’t even have to leave your current employer.

    Let’s take Amy Schonberger as an example. She felt stuck as a senior creative strategist in a public relations firm, but she wasn’t ready to ditch just yet.

    Rather than looking for new jobs, Schonberger started taking responsibility for social media and blogging. Her coworkers weren’t interested themselves. They felt working in social media would damage their reputations.

    But Schonberger knew better, and before long, she found herself dealing with the company’s biggest clients. Her status as a social media expert soon led to her appointment to a new, official role: director of digital entertainment.

    Pivoting isn’t something you do without planning though. Let’s look now at all the stages along the way.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Pivot?

    Key ideas in Pivot

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Pivot about?

    Pivot (2016) defines the four-step approach for navigating personal career changes and growth. In addition to demonstrating the basic elements of this method, author Jenny Blake shows how it can also be incorporated by managers into their day-to-day business practices.

    Best quote from Pivot

    Think about your values as life filters, the search criteria that help clarify your priorities.

    —Jenny Blake
    example alt text

    Who should read Pivot?

    • Entrepreneurs or artists planning on making a career change
    • Anyone who feels stuck in their current job
    • Recent graduates trying to make the right career choices

    About the Author

    Jenny Blake is a career and business strategist and international speaker who helps people build careers aligned with their talents and interests. After working as the first employee at a political polling start-up in Silicon Valley, she pivoted to training and career development at Google, where she cocreated the Career Guru Program. Blake became a full-time business consultant in 2011. She is also the author of Life After College.

    Categories with Pivot

    Books like Pivot

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial