⛹🏽‍♀️ Know when to pivot to save your program

👋🏾 Welcome to The Program Playground newsletter!

I’m Jara, a Senior Program Manager. I created The Program Playground to help you go from an idea to a ready-to-launch program. In this newsletter, you'll find tips, tricks, and best practices to help you build programs, and maximize your impact on your audience.

Here’s this week’s TL;DR

• What is a Pivot Point?

• How to recognize Pivot Points in your program

⛹🏽‍♀️ Identify the Pivot Point™️ 

Storytime

Recently, I went on a work trip. We flew out of a regional airport where flight options were limited. With a connecting flight to catch, it was crucial for my first flight to be on time. But, after a series of delays across a 4-hour window, I realized I wasn’t going to make my conneting flight. I went to the gate agent for advice and she promptly said, "All I know is that you have to get out of this airport" 💀. So, we decided to rent a car and drive two hours to a larger airport with better flight options. Upon arriving in the city at 11:45pm, we were so hungry, and wandered downtown looking for options. The first place we found only served drinks since their kitchen was closed. We ended up at McDonald’s (where I had the freshest chicken nuggets of my life). After a quick meal, we returned to the hotel where I got two hours of sleep before heading out to my newly boked 6 a.m. flight. After checking out, I struggled to find a ride to the airport because it was so early that not many ride-share drivers were available. I had to wait 30 minutes to find a ride. Eventually, I got to the airport (on time), and landed back home in one piece.

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I’m not sharing this to complain about flights, but to highlight what I call “Pivot Points”—moments where swfit, decisive actions alter the entire course of events. I’ll now reshare the story, pinpointing each opportunity where a different decision could have changed my luck.

Storytime Redux

Recently, I went on a work trip. We flew out of a regional airport where flight options were limited. With a connecting flight to catch, it was crucial for my first flight to be on time. But, after a series of delays across a 4-hour window ⛹🏽‍♀️ PIVOT POINT⛹🏽‍♀️ , I realized I wasn’t going to make my conneting flight. I went to the gate agent for advice and she promptly said, "All I know is that you have to get out of this airport" 💀 ⛹🏽‍♀️ PIVOT POINT/RUN FOR MY LIFE ⛹🏽‍♀️. So, we decided to rent a car and drive two hours to a larger airport with better flight options. Upon arriving in the city at 11:45pm, we were so hungry, and wandered downtown looking for options ⛹🏽‍♀️ PIVOT POINT⛹🏽‍♀️. The first place we found only served drinks since their kitchen was closed. We ended up at McDonald’s (where I had the freshest chicken nuggets of my life). After a quick meal, we returned to the hotel where I got two hours of sleep before heading out to my newly boked 6 a.m. flight ⛹🏽‍♀️ PIVOT POINT⛹🏽‍♀️. After checking out, I struggled to find a ride to the airport because it was so early that not many ride-share drivers were available. I had to wait 30 minutes to find a ride ⛹🏽‍♀️ PIVOT POINT⛹🏽‍♀️. Eventually, I got to the airport (on time), and landed back home in one piece.

Note how many opportunities there are to shift. Your program isn’t sedintary, but you need to be assertive, clear, and recognize when it’s time to move.

🔀 Know when to pivot in program management

Here are some easy ways to identify the Pivot Point in your program:

1. When your program is no longer growing: This is the easiest to identify. If you’re seeing low adoption/engagement rates, bad CSATs, or steady streams of negative feedback…it’s time to move. Your program is going nowhere fast.

2. When market trends shift: The emergence of new competitors, changes in technology, or shifts in market can make your current approach obsolete. Don’t blow up your whole program just because of AI, or a new competitior, but recognize trends and adjust accordingly.

3. When your initial fit isn’t fitting: If your program has lost its way from the original vision or mission, it’s time to hit pause. Figure out where you lost your way and how to get back on track.

4. When operations are bloated and obsolete: If it’s taking hours, days, or weeks for you to get anything done, it’s time to reevaluate your program. Where can you cut costs, resources or bandwidth to make this operationally sound and not a nightmare to deal with?

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