The word pivot or pivot has one meaning or another depending on the context in which it is used. There are three areas in which it can be used: in relation to mechanics, in certain team sports and in the business world.
In the world of mechanics
Some gadgets or machines work with fixed joint systems that allow a structure to move or rotate independently. For this to be possible, a fixed point or axis that acts as a support or pivot is necessary. Thus, the pivot is what allows a machine to be oriented towards a place.
This structure presents different modalities (there are mechanical and hydraulic pivots and there are also pivot joints of the skeletal system, for example in human knees).
In some team sports
In most team sports each player has a specific function depending on their physical and technical qualities. The figure of the pivot or center has an important role in basketball and handball.
In basketball, the role of the center is normally exercised by a player of great stature. This characteristic allows him to be useful both in defense and attack and always close to the basket. When he is defending the center, he can block the opponent’s shots or block their positions and when he attacks, his greater height allows him to collect rebounds more easily.
In handball, the center is also a tall player with great physical strength. His main function is to unblock the opposing team’s defense in order to create spaces for other players on his team to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal more easily.
In other team sports, such as rugby or volleyball, the figure of the pivot does not exist.
Pivot on business strategy
When something rotates on an axis, the action of pivoting occurs. However, in business terminology the verb to pivot is used in a very particular sense. There is talk of a company’s ability to pivot to refer to a certain quality: adaptation to changes and new trends. In this way, a company pivots when it adapts quickly and agilely to the change processes that occur around it.
Therefore, the idea of pivoting is equivalent to changing and implies a shift in the initial strategy in order to seek greater profitability (for example, pivoting a company can be based on a radical change in pricing policy or altering the initial model). of business).
Photos: Fotolia-nenetus / nd3000
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