🛠️ Pivot Toolkit: Scan
Scan by researching new and related skills, talking to other people, and mapping out potential opportunities.
This is the exploration phase: oftentimes the scanning phase involves doing research, identifying and plugging knowledge and skill gaps, and having a wide variety of conversations with an expanded network, without falling into analysis-paralysis or compare-and-despair.
Scanning includes: people, skills, and opportunities.
Templates
For each one, go to File → Make a Copy to save a working version for yourself
Opportunity Grid Brainstorm: Scan and pilot with a plan; this template will help you brainstorm potential skills, people and projects.
Plan Your Next Career Move: This template will help you start to lift the fog on your career — it breaks down various categories within a job or career (location, company size, type of work, etc), and provides space for you to brainstorm a list of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and can’t stands for each area.
Network Email Mad-Lib Template: This template outlines exactly how to reach out to your network once you’re clear on what you want to do next, and what you bring to the table. Simply fill-in the blanks, personalize, and voilà! You’re ready to send to your inner circle so they can help keep feelers out for you.
Meet Market: Moving to a new area? This template will help you brainstorm ways to meet new people.
Mentor/Network Tracker: Track contact info of people you meet that you want to follow-up with. No need to refer back to business cards – info is easily accessible online (& centralized). Skim through your list every few months & follow-up.
Mastermind Best Practices, Facilitator Guidelines, and Group Discussion Template: Guidelines for setting up a mastermind group with peers, and an optional discussion template that you can modify before meetings to share updates.
Bartering Best Practices: Pointers for swapping services with friends without exchanging money; brainstorm what you could give and receive; identify what factors will help a specific barter proposal feel fair for both sides.
Professional Development Strategy: This template has three strategy areas: Your Vision (brainstorm about desired impact, what you want to do & have), The What (skills, knowledge, education, experience), and The How (quarterly benchmarks & resources).
Platform/Niche Brainstorming & Attracting Ideal Clients: Worried that the market you want to serve is too big? Too small? This worksheet will help take your intended audience from fuzzy generalizations to a clear, specific description that will allow you to become discoverable to your ideal clients (and help friends and family better spread the word).
Ideal Business Design and Action Plan Template: This template will help you outline your high-level business goals (schedule, finances, “red carpet” offering) and guide you to create an action-plan to make it happen.