Pivoting in a nutshell

Pivoting, alongside MVP, entered entrepreneurs' vernacular in early 2010, with the success of the Lean Startup methodology.

A decade later, the term above still causes some confusion. So here's the absolutely simplest definition, straight from Eric Ries himself:

Changing strategy while retaining one's original vision.

Simply put, a pivot is change in strategy without a change of vision. The change must be grounded in validated learning.

Here is a simple visual to illustrate the difference:

If you'd like to learn more about pivoting, I suggest the following:

• Lean Startup Fundamentals webinar I did, three pivoting examples are shared in the beginning.
• Is it time to pivot?
• The barriers to pivoting in large companies.

Remember that your pivots must be based on the data and insight from your lean experiments, and not simple whims or opinions.