On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was a young political aide working in the West Wing of the White House.
Suddenly, I had a choice to make.
The terrible events of that day were already unfolding. Two aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center North and South towers in New York City. Two other planes would soon crash into the Pentagon and a field in Western Pennsylvania.
Secret Service agents came into my small office – moments after the second plane hit the South Tower.
They were evacuating the buildings. I was given an ultimatum: Evacuate or stay, however if I stayed, they could not guarantee my safety.
I immediately stood up and walked towards the exit, but something inside me made be stop. I was overcome with the feeling that I was standing at a crossroads, and I pivoted. I turned on my heels and walked straight back into the White House.
That pivot changed the course of my career. I became employee number one in the newly formed White House Office of Homeland Security. That pivot that day led to years of learning and working at the highest level of national security in the United States.
Only years later did I realize that my White House ‘pivot’ wasn’t the only one that I’d made in my life.
The terrible events of that day were already unfolding. Two aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center North and South towers in New York City . Two other planes would soon crash into the Pentagon and a field in Western Pennsylvania .
Some of my ‘pivots’ were intentional. Others were done on a whim. Some were successful and others not as much. Altogether, each one has determined my professional journey from rural Pennsylvania to Washington, DC, to today – an adviser to American’s most influential business and political leaders.
With untold amounts of appreciation and gratitude to many mentors and friends for teaching me how to manage life’s inevitable decision-points, I’ve set out to guide others by developing the ‘Power Pivot’ model. I’ve now taught this system to Fortune 500 CEOs, young professionals and even middle-aged moms and dads, who’ve decided that it’s time for change.
Now, I’ll teach it to you, by sharing case studies of three of the world’s most famous ‘Pivoters’.
Slow Pivot
One of the most impressive career transformations in modern American history, without a doubt, belongs to President Donald J. Trump.
As we all know, Trump followed in the footsteps of his father, the successful developer Fred Trump.
Donald J. Trump built the family business into a billion-dollar real estate empire in New York City and beyond. His not-so-secret secrets to success have been documented in multiple best-selling books about entrepreneurship and wealth building.
Less well-known, however, is how Trump steadily and deliberately pivoted to politics.
As early as the 1980s, he was vocal about his interest in government, even though he was seldom considered a serious candidate for any public office.
Trump outlined his views on various political issues, from critiquing consensus views on ‘free trade’ with CNN’s Larry King in 1987 to arguing against unfettered illegal immigration on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ in 1999.
Ashley Davis is a partner at S-3 Group, a founder partner of West Front Strategies LLC and former special assistant to the Director of Homeland Security
In 2004, Trump added ‘reality TV star’ to his resume with the hit NBC show ‘The Apprentice.’ The program, which also featured his daughter Ivanka Trump, gave us his iconic tag line, ‘You’re fired!’
Trump’s foray into media followed the example of another famous Republican politician, who honed his communication skills in the entertainment industry: Ronald Reagan.
Over his adult lifetime, Trump has demonstrated an interest in politics, articulated a set for principles on which to campaign, and developed the skills to communicate his ideas to the masses.
In my Power Pivot model, I layout the tools of how to implement a strategy over time to achieve your goal – and how intentional planning and intentional purpose lead to intentional change.
At 40 years old, I decided I wanted to sit on corporate boards. To accomplice this objective, I put in place an intentional plan that took nearly three years and included enrolling in business school and networking with purpose. The plan led to success.
But not every ‘pivot,’ however, will be successful. Nor will one land you the gig as leader of the free world. Learning from failures is invaluable and the key is when and how to pivot.
The Backtrack
Elon Musk is another world-renown entrepreneur, who has attempted a pivot into politics.
Of course, Elon is in a category of his own when it comes to innovation and business success. He has created and managed global industrial corporations that have become iconic brands from X, Tesla, and SpaceX, a venture that will likely put humans on Mars.
Though after President Trump gave him the top job at the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon was unable to capture the hearts and minds of Democrats, independents and even some Republicans. Furthermore, his businesses have suffered to varying degrees from the negative blowback.
Indeed, while polls in March showed that one-third of voters believed that DOGE’s work was necessary, nearly three in ten thought that it needed to be done more methodically. Another one-third said that it had been reckless.
Last Friday, President Trump graciously received Elon in the Oval Office, marking the end of his day-to-day oversight of DOGE and to thank him for his involvement to date. Elon, who was a special designated employee, which enabled him to stay in the top role at DOGE for 130 days, will now return to his day jobs, if you will.
I’m all too familiar with the predicament Elon faced. He saw an opportunity to apply his unique skills to a major problem that needed solving – the reform of a bloated federal government.
Elon is in a category of his own when it comes to innovation and business success. He has created and managed global industrial corporations that have become iconic brands from X, Tesla, and SpaceX, a venture that will likely put humans on Mars.
But there’s wisdom in knowing when not to pivot or pivot back if something is not playing out as you envisioned it. Elon realized he couldn’t effectively lead DOGE, while also leading his global businesses, in part because of the damage the political backlash was causing him.
I knew I always wanted to be a CEO or be my own boss. After the White House, I joined a law firm, where I spent nearly 13 years growing and ultimately leading their Government Relations arm. I’m daily thankful for the trust, opportunity, and experiences they gave me (especially as someone who is not a lawyer). I appreciate how I grew professional while I was there.
But at year 10, I was getting antsy and wanted to explore new opportunities. I would say I had a chip on my shoulder that I could do anything. I start putting a plan in place to branch off, but it was a little too early. I quickly realized that I didn’t yet have the credibility necessary for my own venture.
So, I identified other areas I needed to strengthen and over the following three years, I sought out opportunities to grow professionally. I was also simultaneously laying the groundwork to eventually achieve my goal.
Resilience – the ability to rebound from setback to success – is key to a ‘Power Pivot.’
Time will tell if Elon has a future in the political arena. He has demonstrated one notable and necessary political strength: the ability to backtrack. And that is perhaps something that others can learn from… at the very least, politics is a dog-eat-dog world no matter what the intentions.
Directionless Pivot
On February 18, 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family.’
Regardless of your opinion of Meghan and Prince Harry’s decision to leave the Royal Family, more than four years after their ‘pivot,’ it seems to be that they have fallen short of what they would have hoped to achieve.
Of note with some of Meghan’s endeavors, Spotify canceled her podcast ‘Archetypes’ after one season. A second similar venture, ‘Confessions of a Female Founder,’ which debuted this year, appears to be struggling to gain traction with audiences.
On February 18, 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family.’
‘With Love, Meghan’ – the Netflix series centered around Meghan’s homemaking and lifestyle tips, is seen by some as being unrelatable and out of touch. The future of her food brand ‘As Ever,’ is also uncertain as the Duchess said she’s unlikely to restock some of her signature products.
I give full credit and laud both Meghan and Prince Harry for taking such big chances after deciding that they had to make a change. They knew they had to pivot and did so boldly. They unfortunately failed to recognize, in my mind, a key element of the ‘Power Pivot’, intentional purpose.
Before a pivot, it’s necessary to do market analysis to determine what you can offer that will differentiate yourself from the competition is essential. They may have benefited from a deeper look into their intentions and the impact that their pivot would have on their family, their businesses and their reputations.
If they applied my Power Pivot model to these efforts, Meghan would have had better insight into the need to be more certain of her audience.
No one, including me, should pretend to imagine the pressure Meghan and Prince Harry faced as working Royals. But I look at this from a business perspective, a more intentional plan was needed.
All of these hard learned lessons and more are contained in the ‘Power Pivot,’ and I can’t wait to educate others about them.
Ashley Davis is a partner at S-3 Group, a founder partner of West Front Strategies LLC and former special assistant to the Director of Homeland Security
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .