Episode 2241: Gary Shapiro on how to become a Pivot Guy
Gary Shapiro is my Pivot Guy. As the longtime CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the organization that puts on Las Vegas’ annual CES, Gary knows a thing or two about pivoting. And now he’s put his pivoting wisdom into a pivotal new book, Pivot or Die: How Leaders Thrive When Everything Changes, a guide about how to pivot successfully. As Gary explained to me, he breaks pivoting down into four kinds of pivots: the startup pivot, the forced pivot, the failure pivot and the success pivot. A pivotal conversation about a pivotally important subject.
Gary Shapiro is CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® which represents over 1300 consumer technology companies and owns and produces CES® — the Global Stage for Innovation. As head of CTA for more than three decades, he has ushered the consumer technology industry through major periods of technological upheaval and transformation. Shapiro is also the New York Times bestselling author of Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation (HarperCollins, 2019), Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses (HarperCollins, 2013), and The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream (Beaufort, 2011). Through these books and through television appearances, and as a columnist whose more than 1200 opinion pieces have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post, Shapiro has helped direct policymakers and business leaders on the importance of innovation in the U.S. economy.
Named as one of the "100 most pivoted men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's most pivotal broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the pivotal author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two cats, both called Pivot.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Jamie Susskind: How the Digital Republic Could Deepen Democracy and Compound Freedom in the 21st Century
Bernhard Poerksen: Can an "Editorial Society" Heal Our Digital Fever of Misinformation and Lies?
Max Holleran on NIMBYism vs YIMBYism: How to Reinvent the City to Solve the Homelessness Pandemic
Jonathan Rauch Contemplates (and Fears) a Post-Democratic America
Ian Buruma: What to Make of America On Its 246th Birthday
Daniel Birnbaum: Wassily Kandinsky and the Uncannily Contemporary Origins of 20th Century Abstract Art
George Monbiot on How to Feed the World Without Devouring the Planet
Verlyn Klinkenborg on How to Write Well About Nature: Simplify Language, Empathize With Other Creatures, and Use Your Eyes Like a Hawk
Elizabeth Sandifer: Why a Bloody End to Democracy in America Is Not Only Likely But Maybe Even Inevitable
Andrew Hodges on Alan Turing and Why One of the 20th Century's Most Iconic Figures Remains So Relevant in the 21st Century
Chris Miller: Is It Possible That the Russians Are Now Winning the War in Ukraine?
Margaret Mitchell: Can Big Tech Be Reformed to Make It More Ethically Responsible In Its Development of Artificial Intelligence?
Robert Pearl: How the Seemingly Parallel Pandemics of Covid, Anxiety, and Gun Violence Are All Part of the Same Existential Crisis of American Healthcare