Week Three: Pilot

The primary goal of the Pilot stage is ignition and validation: generating ideas, testing them, then taking small, smart risks to eventually inform bigger decisions about what’s next.

PIVOTMethod_JennyBlake_Pilot.jpg

Pilot Stage Tips

  • Pilots can be as simple as tweaks to your morning routine, personally rewarding such as spending time living in another country, or as ambitious as making a bigger career change.

  • A strong pilot should test the Three E’s: do I enjoy this? Can I become an expert at it? And is there room for expansion in the market or within my company?

  • Prepare to be wrong during the Pilot process. Oftentimes that “failure” or missed mark provides the next important clue.

 

Reflection Questions

  • What small experiments, related to my strengths, can I run in the next six months?

  • What small test can I pilot in the next week?

  • What one next action would make the biggest impact toward moving me closer to my one-year vision?

 

Action to take this week—choose one of the three (or make up your own!)

  • For your brainstorm lists above, break down the next steps into even smaller chunks. Add them to your to-do list and/or block off time on your calendar.

  • Choose one next step to take THIS WEEK.

  • Set-up a pilot challenge with a friend: what will you do by when, and how will you let each other know?

 

Optional Template Exercises to Jog Your Thinking

  • Travel Pilot Planning Template: Travel pilots are different from vacations in that they stretch us farther outside of our comfort zone to shake-up stagnant thinking. This template will help you brainstorm travel pilots and provides a framework for evaluating them based on factors like distance, cost of living, and time away.

  • Decision-Making Template: Weighing a big decision? Pro/con list not doing the trick? This template will help you break down fears/concerns and brainstorm next steps to move you forward.

 

Pivot Podcasts

 

P.S. Don’t forget to tweet your #PIVOTsprint progress with the hashtags #PIVOTsprint and #nextmove! For a complete guide to planning your pivot, check out Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One.