📎 PIVOT! The Surprising Business Lessons Hidden in My Most Infamous Couch Moment -By Dr. Ross Geller, Ph.D., Paleontology… and Unofficial Change Consultant

Now, we all know that Ross Gellar is a fictional character from Friends, but every now and then, a conversation with ChatGPT turns up something interesting, and when I asked it to turn “Pivot” into a lesson, here’s what it came up with.  I approve.

By Dr. Ross Geller, Ph.D., Paleontology… and Unofficial Change Consultant

Look, I didn’t mean to become a viral case study in business agility. I was just trying to get a couch up a narrow New York City stairwell. But sometimes, life throws you a metaphor, and you scream it over and over again until everyone gets it.

That metaphor? PIVOT.

In the world of paleontology, we pivot all the time—reevaluating theories based on new fossils, data, or when someone accidentally sneezes into your carbon dating sample (looking at you, Leonard). But I never expected that a simple piece of furniture and a poorly planned staircase maneuver would give birth to the greatest lesson in business transformation I’ve ever lived through. So here it is:

1. Your First Plan Won’t Work. That’s Okay.
I had a plan. A couch. A blueprint. But reality is not a flat diagram. In business, just like in stairwells, rigidity breaks things (and friendships). Your go-to-market plan might sound great in a boardroom. Then you meet stairs. Or supply chain issues. Or a pandemic.

2. Communication Is Key (But Volume Isn’t Strategy)
“Pivot!” I yelled it a dozen times. Did anyone listen? No. Why? Because I wasn’t clear. I didn’t reframe. I didn’t adapt my message for my audience (thanks for trying, Chandler… sort of). In business, repeating a failing message louder doesn’t fix the issue. It just exhausts your team.

3. Know When to Let Go of the Couch
Some business models, like some couches, just don’t fit. You can force them, damage the walls, and throw out your back—or you can accept that it’s time to let go. Maybe sell it. Maybe rethink your target stairwell. Maybe go for a sectional next time.

4. Pivots Require Space—Both Literal and Mental
We didn’t have room to turn because we didn’t give ourselves enough margin. Businesses that run too lean—on time, capital, or bandwidth—find themselves trapped when it’s time to turn. Build slack into your system, or the pivot will crush you.

5. Don’t Forget to Laugh (Even If You’re Cry-Laughing)
Everything’s absurd if you zoom out far enough. And sometimes, screaming “PIVOT” in your head is the only thing keeping your company from folding. Humor keeps morale high, especially when you’re wedged between a railing and regret.

Pivoting isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a sign of evolution. And if there’s anything I know about evolution (again, Ph.D. here), it’s that those who adapt, survive.

So next time your business model hits the wall—literally or metaphorically—remember: