“Pivoting is not a dirty word but rather a competitive advantage.”
So says Joseph Hanna, author of Pivoting as a Way of Life: Stop Chasing Unicorns and Product-Market Fit — a game-changing guide for entrepreneurs, product managers and innovators who want to thrive in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Hanna’s book challenges the conventional wisdom of product-market fit as a static, one-time milestone. It introduces a dynamic new framework — the Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM) — emphasizing continuous innovation and adaptability.
In this recent Q&A, Hanna elaborates on the theories and principles in his book.
Q: Why did you write this book?
A: I wrote Pivoting as a Way of Life to address a critical gap in how businesses manage change and innovation. I have personally experienced this gap as a founder, product leader, advisor and investor. Most companies and teams realize the need to pivot and innovate but lack a structured methodology to execute this goal, especially in B2B and tech-enabled services.
The references and research in the field are dominated by Silicon Valley B2C experts. Although they offer valuable insights, they tend to be too generic to be executable playbooks and they are less applicable in other areas. Product management is in dire need of a structured, repeatable, scalable and measurable methodology similar to SCRUM, but tailored to product strategy.
Q: Your book introduces the Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM) as a dynamic alternative to traditional product management frameworks. What inspired you to develop this model, and how did you identify the shortcomings in the existing approaches?
A: The Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM) was inspired by the need for a structured, metrics-driven approach to product strategy and innovation, one that existing frameworks lack. Traditional methodologies like Agile and SCRUM focus on development and delivery but fail to provide guidance on navigating market shifts, roadmapping, investment rationalization or supporting the entire lifecycle of strategic pivots. Others, like Lean, are fantastic additions to the field but stay at a high level and sometimes are too theoretical and ideological.
I saw the need for a model that integrates dynamic metrics and decision-making frameworks designed explicitly for pivoting and continuous innovation — a model that would also be applicable to data and tech-enabled services products. PLOM fills this gap by offering a repeatable, scalable, data-driven process that aligns product strategy with real-time market input, ensuring product leaders can innovate precisely and confidently.
Q: In the book, you emphasize the importance of continuous innovation over finding the perfect product-market fit. How can entrepreneurs balance the need for adaptability with the pressures of meeting investor expectations for immediate results?
A: What a great question! In the “Inception” and “Ford vs. Ferrari” chapters, I discuss the typical product lifecycle trajectory and R&D investment distribution that almost all startups and products follow. The pre-product-market fit vs. post-product-market fit operating models are ingrained in the psyche of a generation of investors, entrepreneurs, and product leaders.
Change is difficult, but empirical evidence has proven that these models are flawed, leading to over $30B of public SaaS companies’ investments going unused by users and most startups failing to reach series B.
The investment distribution model and continuous innovation frameworks, which are core components of PLOM, provide the foundation for balancing short-term gains with long-term value creation.
Q: You introduce new metrics like Lifecycle Velocity and Pivoting Cadence. Could you explain how these differ from traditional metrics like market share or customer acquisition and how they better reflect a company’s potential for long-term success?
A: Traditional metrics still have their place if they are measured and interpreted correctly. I presented frameworks for assessing their effectiveness and designing dashboards that apply to both the commonly known metrics and the PLOM newly introduced ones.
The goal of the new metrics, like Lifecycle Velocity, Copycat Metric and Pivoting Cadence, is to provide a more dynamic view of a company’s adaptability and resilience. For example, Lifecycle Velocity measures the speed at which a company can iterate on its innovation’s lifecycle — from idea to launch — reflecting its ability to innovate rapidly. The Copycat Metric measures our tendencies to invest in recycled commodity features. Pivoting Cadence tracks the frequency and effectiveness of strategic pivots, highlighting a company’s agility in responding to market shifts.
These metrics predict long-term success by emphasizing adaptability, continuous improvement, and the company’s readiness to capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Q: Many companies are increasingly integrating AI into their product management processes. How do you see AI reshaping the landscape for innovation?
A: Product management is an AI candy store! We can fill volumes with this discussion. AI roadmapping is one of PLOM’s ten core frameworks, and we have dedicated over 20% of the book discussions to various topics around AI support in innovation management.
For most organizations, Product is a logical starting point for AI transformation. We discussed in detail how AI agents can already perform a third of the traditional product management functions. We also introduced the concept of Large Product Models, a close sibling to LLMs. By the time these agents mature into what we described as our “AI Colleagues,” we will be working with a hybrid team of humans and AI.
The sky is the limit, and the future of this area will be fascinating.
Q: Can you share a real-world example from the book where PLOM led to a significant business pivot and how that transformed the organization’s trajectory?
A: The book references many case studies where PLOM was successfully implemented in part or in its entirety and led to major business wins.
Those examples include startups identifying the need for and successfully executing major pivots, mature organizations transforming their product management processes to accelerate innovation and competitiveness, PEs assessing the potential of an investment and its value creation thesis, product acquisitions being integrated objectively, and roadmap decisions being aligned with real-time market insights and strategic objectives.
By applying PLOM, these companies were able to make data-driven decisions, prioritize effectively and navigate uncertainty with higher confidence, ultimately leading to measurable business outcomes.
Q: The Idea-to-Cash Wheel is one of the frameworks you propose. How does this concept address the common challenge of transforming great ideas into marketable products faster than the competition?
A: The Idea-to-Cash Wheel is a practical and execution-ready expansion of the lean startup’s ‘build-measure-learn’ iterative loop. The framework is designed to streamline the journey from concept to market, accelerating the time it takes companies to transform ideas into revenue-generating products.
When the wheel is coupled with its two related metrics, which I introduced, Lifecycle Velocity and Lifecycle Conversion Ratio, you have a structured methodology for implementing and measuring the Good to Great flywheel concept — something we lacked in product management.
The wheel is also designed to break down silos and foster cross-functional collaboration by integrating all key stakeholders into a continuous product cycle. Each phase of the wheel, from ideation to launch, requires input and coordination across teams, creating a shared ownership culture.
Q: For corporate executives who might be resistant to constant pivoting, how can they foster a culture of agility within established organizations without disrupting existing operations too drastically?
A: The key is to view agility not as a series of drastic changes but as a structured approach to continuous improvement. Pivoting is not a “dirty word” but rather a competitive advantage! I advocate for integrating PLOM gradually, starting with small, controlled initiatives to demonstrate success. At the end of every chapter, I offer three actions that can be taken today instead of waiting for an extensive, expensive transformation effort.
It is just as important to use metrics to showcase the successful impact. Using metrics like Lifecycle Velocity, Value vs. Differentiation Matrix, Investment Distribution, and Pivoting Cadence, leaders can monitor these efforts in real-time, ensuring they align with business goals without disrupting core operations.
The ultimate goal is to embed the PLOM culture contract in the team’s DNA — a culture that is team-based, disciplined, metric-driven, and always hungry for change.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
A: I hope readers will see Pivoting as a Way of Life not only as a playbook but as the start of a movement toward redefining how businesses approach change. In the epilogue, I highlight that pivoting is not merely a response to failure or disruption; it’s a proactive strategy and discipline for continuous growth and innovation.
My goal is for product leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives to adopt the mindset that agility, adaptability, and strategic pivots are essential components of long-term success. I want to inspire a community of change-makers who see pivoting as a core competency and competitive advantage, transforming their organizations into dynamic, resilient entities capable of thriving in any market condition.
Pivoting as a Way of Life is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.
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About Joseph Hanna:
Joseph Hanna is a distinguished executive, innovator and product leader in SaaS, data, and AI/ML. He is the creator of the Pivoting Life Operating Model (PLOM®) and has a strong track record in growing PE/VC-backed companies. Joe was an early pioneer in applying AI/ML in multiple industries, including credit, sales, HR, supply chain, and procurement. He holds several patents in various applications of AI technologies.
Over his 30+ years in the technology field, Joe held executive positions with companies ranging from large enterprises to startups. He has been known to parachute to help teams of all sizes solve product and strategy challenges. Joe was the founder and CEO of ENGAGE, the award-winning AI talent intelligence platform that was acquired by Carlyle/Workforce Logiq.
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