CTA owns the United States ’ largest annual B2B exhibition , the Consumer Electronics Show , held annually in Las Vegas .

I spoke with Gary about the book ahead of its official publication date . He talks about four kinds of pivots : The Start-Up , The Forced Pivot ( when outside forces change the environment in which a company

manufactures , sells , profits or functions ), the Failure Pivot , and the Success Pivot .

He explained that in 2011 , Harvard Business Review dubbed ‘ the pivot ’ as “ geek-ese for ‘ this isn ’ t working : let ’ s change it up .’”

The book says , “ As a general rule , pivots foster innovation and creative thinking within an organisation . That ’ s especially true of forced pivots , where do-or-die situations foster an all-hands-on-deck mentality and reward out-of-the-box ideas .” It goes on to say : “ Each type of pivot does offer unique lessons on how to change your mindset as a leader and innovator and steer your business through challenging waters .”

Gary said : “ Covid provided a lot of stimuli for innovation . We all learned online won ’ t replace face-

Above : The path to entry

Left : Covid led to innovation

to-face .” One could say it triggered the exhibition industry into a forced pivot . His favourite story in the book was around CES ’ s decision to pivot to a virtual show in 2021 – the announcement was made seven months before the show , based on science and common sense .

“ People thought we were crazy , but history has shown we made the right decisions – along with holding the show in person in 2022 during the Omicron wave .” That year ’ s show , where much media focus was on large companies who weren ’ t there , ended up providing amazing opportunities for new companies and launches , particularly on the