I published PIVOTAL: Creating Stability in an Uncertain World four months ago after two and a half years of writing.
The premise is simple: In an ever-changing world, we must slow down the pivoting and instead focus on what doesn’t change.
As far as I know, this is a unique concept that I haven’t seen published elsewhere… until today.
My friend Dan Kaus sent me an article from the November/December 2024 issue of Harvard Business Review titled “How to Avoid the Agility Trap.”
The article’s header reads, “In an environment of rapid change, trying to adapt to every shift can lead to chaos. Instead, keep your eye on what remains constant.”
Hmm, sounds familiar, right?
They even use the Jeff Bezos quote I included in the Preface of my book.
If you swap “agility” with “pivoting” and “constancy” with “stability,” you’ll find the article closely mirrors the premise of my book. Of course, theirs is a 10-page article, while mine is a 200-page book.
The article doesn’t explain how to achieve constancy, while I provide my Innovation Targeting Matrix and the 5Ds of Differentiation as frameworks for achieving constancy and stability. Although they don’t use the term “differentiation,” they emphasize maintaining competitive advantages through enduring, unchanging factors.
You might think I’m bitter and believe they copied me. But the opposite is true.
I highly doubt the co-authors read my book or even my posts about it over the past three years. I’m sure this is their own original work.
I’m thrilled that this article, in one of the world’s most respected business journals, “validates” the premise of my book. I recommend everyone read the article, and if you want to know how to achieve this constancy, read my book.
This is a classic case of simultaneous invention, or multiple discovery, where the same idea emerges independently, even without communication between the creators.
So, it is with great pleasure that I share with you the HBR article: “How to Avoid the Agility Trap.”