Make your Wise Pivot to the New

Pivot to the New without abandoning the core

Organizations today are at an inflection point. Business leaders know that thriving in the digital age requires them to take on the disruptive forces changing their industry with speed, confidence and continuous innovation. But the reality is, only 6% of C-level executives say they’ve successfully managed to embrace new businesses activities without hesitation.

So what does it take to get there? We call it the Wise Pivot, a strategy fit for the digital age that can help companies pursue new growth opportunities without abandoning their core business.

And what’s more: Companies who pivot wisely know how to constantly calibrate their investments and assess their organization’s investment capacity to grow new businesses at precisely the right time.

Three things ‘‘Masters‘’ do

Embracing new businesses decisively is a challenge for most companies. Many cling to legacy products, services and brands, or have outdated technology.

Yet, for a small group of companies, expanding into new businesses while driving continuous transformation of existing operations has become the new norm. These “Rotation Masters” are constantly reinventing themselves by radically transforming their legacy business, while at the same time seizing new business opportunities. And it’s paying off: Sixty-four percent of Rotation Masters have achieved double-digit growth (more than 10%) in sales, while 57% achieved the same growth results in EBITD.

In addition to financial performance, these companies have the know-how to ready themselves for the Wise Pivot, mastering three preconditions to help them embrace growth opportunities.

1. Rotation Masters build greater investment capacity by revitalizing their core business

2. Rotation Masters foster innovation throughout their organization

3. Rotation Masters create synergies between new and legacy businesses

We identified three other groups of companies, based on the stage of their journey: Rotation Drivers, Rotation Strivers, and Rotation Starters.

What’s your path to the New?

Every business embarks on an unique, personal journey to reinvent their organization. The path a company takes depends on its particular position and the opportunities that trigger change. We’ve uncovered four different “starting” scenarios to consider, each reflecting a different level of investment capacity and appetite to make decisive moves.

The future – on your own terms

The success stories of tomorrow will be determined by executives who know how and when to pivot wisely. This will call for courageous decisions that enable today’s companies to: generate sufficient investment capacity by revitalizing their legacy business, then deploy that capacity to scale new businesses, while redesigning the organization to innovate more pervasively. Those companies that pivot wisely will be able to respond to disruption confidently, on their own terms.