Posted by If you’ve ever seen the Friends episode where Ross is screaming “PIVOT!” while trying to maneuver a couch up a staircase, you already understand what a long career in corporate America feels like. You start out thinking there’s a nice, straight path ahead. Work hard, climb the ladder, get promoted, collect a few bonuses & awards and eventually make it to the top. Then somebody changes the org structure, introduces a new technology, maybe eliminates your department or even hires an outside consultant firm to try to explain what you’ve been doing for the last 15 to 20 years. Suddenly, you’re holding a big ass couch halfway up the stairs wondering how the hell you got there. Welcome to career development. And sometimes the only way forward is to yell PIVOT!
My own career has taken a few turns along the way. I started in desktop publishing, back when making something look good required patience, precision and knowing your way around design software without asking Claude every five minutes. From there, I pivoted into marketing and project management, where deadlines, campaigns, budgets and managing conflicting personalities became part of the daily routine. Eventually, another turn brought me into fintech, where creative briefs gave way to roadmaps, sprints, technology platforms, the newborn yet rapidly changing all powerful AI and even conversations that sometimes require a translator. Looking back, none of those moves were wasted. Every chapter gave me something I could carry into the next one. Different industries, different technologies, different responsibilities. Same guy, just a few more tools in the toolbox and probably a little… a LOT more gray hair in the beard.
Here’s something I’ve learned after spending decades in corporate life: a career pivot doesn’t mean you failed at the previous thing. It means you’re evolving. Sometimes you pivot because you’re bored. Sometimes because you want more responsibility, a better salary or a healthier work-life balance… especially once you have a family. Sometimes the company makes the decision for you, which is corporate America’s version of being told the restaurant is closing while you’re still eating. And sometimes you simply realize that what made you successful ten years ago isn’t necessarily what will make you successful today. That’s especially true with AI and technology changing the workplace. Experience still matters, but so does the willingness to learn, adapt and occasionally admit that the 25-year-old in the meeting might know something you don’t. It happens. Nobody likes it, but it happens.
I’ve always thought navigating a career is a lot like driving through Boston. You have construction, unexpected detours, confusing intersections, roads that suddenly become one-way and at least three signs telling you that you can’t make the turn you desperately need to make. No matter the time of day OR night. Throw in a few aggressive drivers and somebody laying on their horn and you’ve basically got a Tuesday morning commute. But you figure it out. You find another route, adjust your plans and keep moving. That’s what a good career pivot requires. You don’t need to have every step mapped out, but you do need to pay attention to what’s happening around you. Don’t get too comfortable, don’t stop learning and don’t let your job title become your entire identity. Your experience is bigger than the box somebody puts you in on an org chart. And your real life is at home with the people you love. Always.
Whether you’re just starting your career, raising a family, paying for future college tuition, thinking about retirement or wondering what the hell comes next after 25 years in the same industry, it’s never too late to make a move. I’m at a point in life where I’m thinking about all of those things, sometimes simultaneously, usually while trying to keep a hundred balls in the air at once. The point is, you don’t have to throw away everything you’ve accomplished to start a new chapter. Take what you’ve learned, trust your experience, stay curious and don’t be afraid to change direction. And if things get complicated, just remember Ross from Friends. Take a breath, grab the couch and yell PIVOT! Preferably before somebody from HR schedules a meeting.
