Jenny Blake is the author of Pivot – The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One. The book provides a four-step method to follow if you want to move into a new career.

It’s aimed at people who have hit a plateau or “pivot point” in their careers; those who hold a calling to do something more meaningful, more challenging and make a greater impact on their employer, society and others around them. These are not people to be confused with others going through quarter-life or midlife crises.

The Pivot framework is rooted in making a move into a new career by drawing on your existing strengths, interests and experience: “a career pivot is doubling down on what is working to make a purposeful shift in a new, related direction”.

The method is bolstered by examples of successful pivot stories from people that Jenny has coached, and exercise templates are available online for readers to work through. She describes pivoting as “a mindset and a skill set” that will equip career-driven people to nimbly navigate their way through career changes.

The Pivot Method:

1. Plant = laying the groundwork: “create a foundation from your values, strengths, and interests, and your one-year vision for the future.”
2. Scan = exploring: “researching new and related skills, talking to others, and mapping potential opportunities.”
3. Pilot = change experimentation: “small, low-risk experiments to test your new direction.”
4. Launch = pivot: “The first three stages of the Pivot Method, repeated as many times as necessary, help reduce risk and give you a greater chance of success, often taking you 80 – 90% of the way toward your goal. Launch is when you pull the trigger on the remaining 10-20%.”