Because no authority dictates the meaning of "pivot", it looks like the concept diverged and became wider:
- "pivot" as switching from a unprofitable or failed business idea to a profitable one. A "phoenix rising from the ashes" type of pivot often associated with startups that finally figured out the elusive "Product Market Fit" instead of shutting down. This seems to be the original meaning popularized in 2011 by Eric Ries "Lean Startup" book : https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
- "pivot" as any change in business focus whether the previous one was profitable or not.
(1) "classical competitive analysis" (Porter) would be basing business decisions on market trends.
(2) "experimentation" is what many of today's startups call "MVP minimum viable product" + "iteration", or "lean startup" popularized by Eric Ries[1].
So (1) would be more theoretical work in spreadsheets to model market size, risks, projected revenue, etc -- vs -- (2) would be start building something small in Javascript/PHP/C++ on AWS and keep iterating on features to see what "sticks"
The (2) experimentation is emphasized lately because cloud infrastructure like AWS makes software experiments very cheap and fast to test business ideas.
But (1) classical analysis is often the only choice especially for building physical products requiring upfront heavy capital investment. You can't "cheaply iterate" to build airplanes or launch a constellation of commercial communications satellites. You have to commit billions to build them first based on theoretical market projections and hope customers will buy it. E.g. both Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 were designed by working backwards from market data analysis. Neither had the money to iterate by having the factory build 10 different airplanes.
>What is the market for a paper like this? And why can't it be written in plain English?
Based on the author's bio, the primary "market" appears to be his PhD thesis advisors: https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/Degrees/PhD/PhDStudentBios/Am...
The secondary market might be HN readers who have no impact on his academic career.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
Read Cracking the PM Interview [1] (for an overview of the job, not the actual interview tips) and The Lean Startup [2] (for general philosophy).
35 is a great age for a PM, especially since PM's often start elsewhere -- maturity is a plus here. I'd say there are 3 main ways into it -- as an engineer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. As a designer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. Or as an MBA who has a good sense for engineering and design. Certifications generally don't mean anything -- communication and leadership skills, good judgment, experience and a proven track record are what matter. But all those things can be demonstrated in previous non-PM roles, in order to make the initial switch.
Also, if you want to be a PM then you'd better enjoy meetings, slides, people, and communicating & convincing all day long, day-in day-out. If those make you say an enthusiastic "yes that's me!" then jump right in. If not... you're gonna have a bad time...
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technol...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
Read "The Lean Startup":
http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-...
[1] Crossing the chasm (Marketing related)
[2] Peopleware (HR related)
[3] How to win friends and influence people (HR related)
[4] The Goal (Business related)
[5] Critical chain (Project management related)
[6] Who moved my cheese (Change management related)
and any of the lean / agile businessy books for ex.
[7] The lean startup
These might not be viewed as traditional MBA material, but my course featured some of these along with more traditional academic books on subjects like financial management, people management, operations etc. I can provide these textbooks to you as well if you like.
*Amazon links just for convenience, no affiliation.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstre...
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-3...
[3] http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/06...
[4] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271951?keywords=eli%20g...
[5] http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Chain-Eliyahu-M-Goldratt/dp/0...
[6] http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0399144...
[7] http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-...
If it's around the business model, the easy answer is to point them to a book like http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continu... There are great techniques in there for how to do customer development -- at this point it seems like required reading for business/product folks.
If you're looking for more mockups, something like Balsamiq is a good starting point.
Is there something else you're looking for?
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continu...
- the lean startup: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
- Amy Hoy's blog: https://stackingthebricks.com/
- working in the domain you are interested in for a year. Go be a realtor. Go work in a lawncare business. etc. etc.
- read Patrick's advice about how he found customers for Appointment reminder: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/05/14/unveiling-my-second-pro...
edit: added link to Patrick's piece