Adaptability is a necessity in business. Industries shift, technology disrupts, and companies that fail to evolve disappear. Pivot or Die by Gary Shapiro sets out to make this case. Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association and the force behind CES, uses his book to argue that leaders must pivot or risk extinction.
The premise is strong (and somewhat obvious in the world today). Pivot or Die is an easy read on a short flight. The execution, however, feels weak. The book is packed with personal anecdotes and case studies, but it lacks a structured approach to decision-making. The stories, while engaging, often feel disconnected, making it hard to walk away with a clear playbook.
Pivot or Become Obsolete
Shapiro emphasizes that companies must pivot when market conditions change. He categorizes pivots into four types:
Startups Pivot to Survive – A company launches with one idea but realizes it must shift to succeed. Amazon started with books but expanded into e-commerce. This is well-documented, little new insight.
Businesses Forced to Pivot – External shocks like regulatory changes or pandemics force companies to rethink their models. Book mentions how COVID-19 pushed businesses online, but the discussion lacks depth. IMO - here the real challenge isn’t recognizing the need to pivot—it’s knowing how to execute successfully.
Failure Drives a Pivot – Learning from mistakes is critical. Book cites Netflix’s shift from DVDs to streaming, a well-known example. It doesn’t explore the internal decision-making that made this pivot work, which would have been more valuable.
Success Requires a Pivot – Even thriving companies must evolve. Apple moved beyond computers to consumer devices. The book acknowledges this but doesn’t break down how successful businesses decide when to pivot or which bets to make.
The author is a strong storyteller. He shares personal experiences and business cases that keep the book moving. If you enjoy business stories, this makes for an easy read.
The biggest weakness is its lack of depth. The book reinforces the idea that pivots are necessary, but it doesn’t provide a clear framework for how leaders should approach them. My all time two favorite books - Andy Grove’s Only the Paranoid Survive and Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup offer more structured approaches with clear methodologies.
Shapiro’s stories, while engaging, feel disconnected. There’s no strong throughline, making it difficult to extract actionable takeaways. The book is also light on data. While case studies are useful, they need to be backed by more research to make a compelling argument.
Pivot or Die is a good read if you want a collection of business stories about change and adaptation. But if you're looking for a deeper exploration of how to identify and execute a pivot, it falls short. It’s entertaining but not necessarily instructive.
If you are looking for a approach to strategic pivots, books like The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen or Measure What Matters by John Doerr provide clearer frameworks backed by data.
If you’ve read Pivot or Die, I’d be curious to hear your take. Did you find it useful?