The phrase "pivotal steps" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a series of actions that are important for achieving a certain result. For example, "The teacher had the students take the pivotal steps of writing, revising, and editing to make sure their essays were the best they could be."
Looking back, there were three pivotal steps to my success when securing my first job.
The succeeding novels tick off the pivotal steps Dr. LaHaye foresees during the ensuing "tribulation," a seven-year period of turmoil and cataclysm when unbelievers have a last chance to see the light.
When listing the most pivotal steps in the Cubs' resurrection, the first thing Ricketts mentioned was hiring Epstein, a move he made after every person he questioned in baseball put Epstein atop a wish list.
The discovery of Archicebus in China lends weight to the idea that the first and most pivotal steps in primate evolution, including the beginnings of anthropoid evolution, almost certainly took place in Asia, rather than Africa.
ALBANY — The State Legislature took pivotal steps on Wednesday toward repealing much of what remains of the state's 1970s-era drug laws, which have tied judges' hands and required them to impose mandatory prison terms for many nonviolent drug offenses.
Feature point detection and matching are two pivotal steps in most camera motion estimation algorithm.
I think going to Columbia was a pivotal step in my career.
Approval of the station by the Connecticut Department of Transportation was a pivotal step in getting the project moving.
The next day's newspapers had proclaimed the collection a pivotal step in the designer's career.
I see pre-production as listing the ingredients, production as shopping for them, and the pivotal step of post-production as the actual cooking.
Before the election, Mr. Blair said he expected to decide within two years whether to take the most pivotal step, calling a referendum on adopting the euro.
