The pivot is the product decision
Notes from leading the Shram pivot, written down so I don't forget.
At Shram in 2024 we were the 800th Jira competitor. The pivot — into AI assistants when the space was very new — was the entire company.
Three things I'd tell past-me:
First, the pivot isn't a feature change. It's a customer change. If your old user can still use the new product, you didn't pivot, you added a tab.
Second, the speed of the pivot matters more than its accuracy. We had two weeks of runway, not two months, and the pressure forced clarity we'd been avoiding for half a year.
Third, the team you pivot with is the team that decides whether the pivot survives the next pivot. Worth more than the idea itself.