Pivot Catalog

Pivot Catalog

A pivot without a name is a drift. This skill matches the evidence that forced the decision to one of Ries's ten pivot types, then drafts the new hypothesis, what learning survives the change, and the first cheap test of the new direction. Run it the moment pivot-or-persevere returns PIVOT.

The Rule

A pivot changes the strategy hypothesis while preserving everything validated so far. If nothing validated survives, it is a new company, not a pivot. If the hypothesis does not change, it is a roadmap, not a pivot. Both findings get reported.

Modes

Diagnose mode (default — user describes symptoms or a decision to change direction)

1. Read references/pivot-types.md before naming anything.
2. Extract the evidence: what was the old hypothesis, what did the cohorts say, what remains true regardless of direction.
3. Match symptoms to exactly one primary pivot type. Name it. If two types fit, name the primary and list the secondary as an explicit rider — never blend them into a vague "strategic shift."
4. State what validated learning carries forward and what gets thrown out. A pivot that preserves nothing is flagged as a restart.

Draft mode (user knows the pivot type or Diagnose has named it)

1. Confirm the pivot type exists in the reference. If the user invented a type, decompose it into the catalog types it combines and say so.
2. Copy templates/pivot-brief.md and fill every bracket: old hypothesis, triggering evidence, pivot type, new hypothesis, preserved learning, and the first cheap test.
3. The first test must be a minimum-viable experiment, not a rebuild: recommend the MVP type using the mvp-type-selector catalog (landing page, concierge, Wizard of Oz, piecemeal, single-feature, explainer video).
4. Include the kill condition for the new direction — signed before the test runs.

Hard Rules

• Every pivot gets named with a catalog type. "We're evolving" is not a pivot type.
• The new hypothesis must be falsifiable in one sentence.
• The first post-pivot test must be cheaper and faster than the original product's build. A pivot that starts with "first, we rebuild the platform" is a relapse.
• Preserved learning is listed explicitly — it is the pivot's only asset.
• One pivot at a time. Two simultaneous pivots produce evidence nobody can attribute.

Output Shape (Diagnose mode)

Old hypothesis: [one sentence]
Triggering evidence: [cohort facts]
Pivot type: [name] — [one-line why this type]
Rider (if any): [secondary type]
Preserved learning: [list]
Discarded: [list]
New hypothesis: [one falsifiable sentence]
First test: [MVP type + one-line design]

Keep output in the user's language. Never recommend a pivot type without naming what it preserves and what it discards.