Pivotal Refinement
The New PR
Of late, I find myself worrying much less about how my work is perceived by the public (PR in the traditional sense) and more about what I can take from previous work as I refine and pivot in a new direction — Pivotal Refinement. I don’t see work as an obvious single path, but instead a series of pivots, each made better by incremental refinement from previous learning. Stubborn persistence and awareness of others’ perceptions can certainly be beneficial, but only so far as it leads efficiently to an attainable end. Lately, I’ve found it much more rewarding (personally and professionally) to persistently pivot, routinely reroute, and intentionally create daily deviations in order to cultivate fresh perspectives on what’s possible. Every pivot is initially accompanied by apprehension, but with the unease comes new understandings and appreciation for what was learned previously. The more you strategically pivot, the more you discover personal cognitive connections and incremental added value. In theory, this should lead to a trend line whose inevitable regressions are always counteracted, creating a positive professional slope over time.
Take a quick dive into the creative processes of the most prolific inventors and you’re likely to see a theme of pivotal refinement (perhaps in other terms). Take Lowell Wood for example — an astrophysicist, a self-trained paleontologist and computer scientist, and the most prolific inventor in U.S. history. Wood may be the definition of genius, but a résumé like his only comes from a willingness to constantly pivot and apply previous insights to new interests. Ashlee Vance of Bloomberg Business wrote an article on my birthday last year that is a particularly compelling exploration of Lowell Wood: How An F Student Became America’s Most Prolific Inventor.
Becoming proficient within a single vein of work is rewarding, but take a chance on a run of unlikely pivots, and you just might look back on your initial work and realize that your courage towards Pivotal Refinement led to something greater than you ever could have achieved prior to your leap of faith.
