I didn’t just grow as a product manager at Pivotal Labs - I became the kind of teammate I always wanted to be.
Years later, I still refer to myself as a Pivot. It’s a badge of honor. A shorthand for integrity, clarity, curiosity, and care.
So this is a thank-you.
To the people I paired with. The clients I coached. The culture that changed how I work—and who I am.
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Let’s start with the values.
They were printed on the wall, on stickers, notebooks, shirts... but more importantly, they were practiced every day.
1. Do the Right Thing
Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
At Pivotal, doing the right thing meant being honest about what mattered. It meant advocating for the user, protecting team sanity, and calling out when something felt off—even if it ruffled feathers.
We stood up for sustainable pace.
We told the truth about tech debt.
We said “not yet” when the work wasn’t ready, even if a stakeholder was.
I learned that doing the right thing sometimes meant walking away from a roadmap item and toward a harder conversation.
And I watched some of the most principled people I’ve ever worked with navigate that tension with humility, clarity, and heart.
2. Do What Works
Do the thing that works.
And if it’s not working: go find what does.
This was always my favorite value because it had two meanings:
If something works: run with it. No need to overthink it.
If it doesn’t work: change it. Improve it. Let it go.
At Pivotal, we weren’t bound to rituals for ritual’s sake.
We were bound to outcomes.
We reworked retros.
We killed features mid-sprint.
We rewrote facilitation plans on the whiteboard five minutes before kickoff.
We weren’t precious. We were responsive.
That mindset rewired me. It taught me to be practical, curious, and deeply collaborative.
It gave me permission to ask, “What would work here?” along with the tools to go find out.
3. Be Kind
Not nice. Kind.
Kindness at Pivotal wasn’t just about being pleasant. It was about being generous with your time, clear with your feedback, and respectful of everyone’s growth curve.
It meant:
offering help before being asked.
making space in the pairing seat for someone new.
delivering hard truths with care because you wanted the other person to succeed.
This value shaped how I coach, how I give feedback, how I run meetings, and how I show up for my teams.
It made kindness a core part of my leadership style - and not something I ever plan to unlearn.
Building on What We Built
Last year, I read this piece by fellow Pivot Nat Bennett, who captured something I’ve always felt but hadn’t quite put into words:
“Pivots trust each other instinctively.”
That’s it.
You walk into a room, a kickoff, a Miro board—and if someone else is a Pivot, you just know.
You trust them to care. To listen. To ship smart. To tell the truth.
And they do.
But I want to take it one step further:
We didn’t just trust each other—we practiced trust, together.
We built it through pairing, through feedback, through facilitation.
Through the habits we repeated daily until they became muscle memory.
And that practice is what still guides me today.
What I Still Carry
Every time I walk into a new team, I carry Pivotal Labs with me.
I still create service blueprints and journey maps like they’re second nature.
I still pair. (Yes, even remotely.)
I still default to the smallest valuable thing and ask, “What do we want to learn?”
I still believe in balanced teams, shared rituals, and user-centered everything.
I still use phrases like “let’s spike it” and “should this be a story?”
And the wild part: There’s almost always another Pivot nearby.
Sometimes I bring them in myself.
Sometimes we find each other by accident.
But when someone says “I used to be at Pivotal,” I immediately trust them.
Because I know they’ll do great work—and they’ll do it well.
The Pivotal Network Is Still Alive
Even now, years after the Labs brand changed hands, the Pivot community is thriving.
The Pivotal Alumni Slack is one of my favorite corners of the internet:
Job leads, design debates, pet photos, retrospectives, parenting advice, thoughtful threads on process, and the occasional “does anyone have the psychological safety workshop talking points?” ask.
We celebrate each other’s wins.
We ask for help.
We share ideas for how to do the right thing, do what works, and be kind - wherever we are now.
And honestly…
When are we all just going to form a collective technology-for-good commune where we can pair all day solving actually-world-bending problems??!
(I’m only half kidding. Bring your dog and your sticky notes.)
If You’re a Pivot Reading This
✨ Thank you. You made me better. You still do.
✨ Hit me up if you ever want to wax poetic about the good old days.
✨ Need a recommendation? A sounding board? A reminder of how good you are? I’ve got you.
To the folks I learned from in Atlanta, New York, Dallas, DC, and San Francisco—I’m endlessly grateful.
To the people keeping the flame alive at places like Mechanical Orchard and beyond—keep going. We see you.
And to every Pivot still out there doing great work—don’t be a stranger.
