Pivot Types | Redirecting

Explore Pivot Stories by Pivot Type

Career and life redirection rarely follows a straight line.

Over the course of my research, clear patterns emerged in how people pivot — not just what they pivot to. These Pivot Types offer different starting points into the stories. You may see yourself in one, several, or discover a path you hadn’t considered.

Pivot Types describe dominant redirection orientations at a point in time. They reflect a combination of structural stage, motivational driver, and intended impact. Because redirection is dynamic, there will be overlap. The goal is to provide a self-reflection lens.

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Continuous Contributors – retired from paid work/employment, still contributing
Resetters – between roles, reassessing direction
Entrepreneurs – start and build their own businesses, typically as founders or co-founders. They build and own the vehicle of their contribution.
Passion Pivoters – people who are driven to follow a calling, personal interest, or sense of purpose. Aligns work with values and meaning
Transformers – people who create something entirely new, reshaping or reinventing systems, markets, or models
Pivot in Progress – actively navigating change, often post lay-off or forced transition.
Traditional Retirees – Those who leave paid work and embrace a conventional retirement. They choose completion and non-career-centered identity as a deliberate redirection.

Pivoters – people who keep continuity of expertise but shift context (e.g. from practitioner to consultant, vendor to analyst, industry-to-industry). They transfer core skills and identity capital from one arena to another

Continuous Contributors

Continuous Contributors are individuals who have stepped away from traditional full-time roles but continue to contribute meaningfully through consulting, mentoring, writing, volunteering, teaching, or creative work.

Their redirection is less about stopping and more about choosing how and where their experience is applied.

Stories in this Pivot Type (alphabetical):

Naomi Bloom: A Journey of Purpose, Resilience, and Living Fully

Scott Burton: “Rewiring and Refiring” for a Better Life

Larry Dunnivan: A Journey of Leadership, Freedom, and Fun

Maeve Hassett: Search for Quiet Led to Teaching Buddhism and Community Listening

Dennis Howlett: New Chapter: From Tech Fray to Purpose-Driven Living

Bob Johansen: A Future-focused Pivot

Katherine Jones: The Art of Staying Active and Embracing New Challenges

Bill Kutik: A Legacy of Influence and a New Chapter of Service

Lexy Martin: Redirecting at 80 – My Latest Pivot Adventure

Randy Saari: Retirement and the Pursuit of Health, Happiness, and Freedom

Frank Scavo: A Reset Rooted in Reflection, Faith, and Collaboration

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Resetters

Resetters are individuals in an in-between phase—often after a layoff, burnout, values mismatch, or major life change—who are intentionally reassessing what comes next.

This period is less about immediate reinvention and more about reflection, experimentation, and regaining agency before committing to a new direction.

Stories in this Pivot Type (alphabetical):

Gretchen Alarcon (see also update to Pivoter): Resetting with Purpose and Resilience

Meg Bear: Resetting for Impact: A Journey Through Sabbatical to Future Leadership

Joanna Bloor: Redefining Potential, Power, and Leadership

David Gabriel: From Corporate Hustle to Rural Life and Coaching

Michael Grimm: A Quiet Pivot from Tech Founder to Different Work - Pickleball

Rebekah Jackson: Redefining Retirement - at 50

Liz Jurcik: A Journey to Self-Preservation and Purpose

Martha Bird: Navigating the Pivot to a Meaningful Retirement

Christy Marble: From Executive Leadership to Embracing Life's Second Act

Amy Wilson: Redefining Success on Her Own Terms

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