Thursday, June 9, 2016

Stop pivoting – I’m getting dizzy!


By: Susan Finco, President, Leonard & Finco Public Relations

All words have a lifecycle; like fashion, they go in and out of style.  But some words seem to become the word du jour out of the blue and then, once they gain a little traction, the word (or words) are everywhere to the point of being over-used. 

Take the word “pivot.”  Growing up, I always thought pivoting was something you did in ballet or in basketball.  Then, in business, I learned about a pivot table, which is a data summary tool. Still, these were pretty limited uses of the word; but now, that’s all changed.  

Pivot- and pivoting – are the word darlings of 2016. They are being used for everything from political to sports business decisions to online gambling. Here’s a sampling: 
  • Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe, said of Trump: "He still has time to pivot — Time is running short, but he has time to do that."  (MSN.com)
  • Hilary Clinton Pivots Toward Donald Trump in Pennsylvania (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Marco Rubio pivots to his next stage  (POLITICO headline)
  •  Did NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pivot on the Redskins? (Headline – Washingtonian)
  • Fan Duel Picks and Pivots for MLB
Frankly, all this pivoting is making me dizzy!  I don’t have a problem with old words getting a new life but, like most over-used words,  this one’s time has come and should be long gone by now.  And I don’t’ think I’ll pivot on that opinion.  What over-used words would you like eliminated (or maybe just reduced) from our vocabulary?

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