ACTS to Ensure Relevance

A simple definition of relevance is the "relation to the matter at hand."

"So what," one might say. Well, experience and information is supporting that unless we ensure our relevance to a person, a department, a team, an organization, we can pretty much call it a day and move on.

What does it mean to ensure relevance? It means four steps...

1. Ascertain your current roles, responsibilities and relationships. All too often, we become immersed, no let me rephrase that, we become entrenched in a position or a part that we play so deeply that we lose sight of what is important. Clearly assessing our current functions and tasks can help to establish how we are establishing our relevance to the situations that we find ourselves in. Once this step is done, we can move forward armed with valuable information. Now, we know what we can bring to the game, the job, the partnership.
   
2. Create clarity around what is important. And let's try something novel - a friend in a recent conversation really helped me with this - start with yourself first. This is the time for you to fully understand what you want and need to ensure that your mental and physical energy and are souls are important to the matters at hand. After we appreciate our own wants and needs, then and only then can we start to fully appreciate what is important to others. Now, we can start asking better questions, sharing relevant information, talent and energy.
   
3. Transform through thoughtful action. Setting goals is a way of life. In fact, goals are set all the time most of the time without thought and definitely without any consideration for the planned actions that will help accomplish that goal. Investing thinking time up front can and will save tons of time. We can ensure relevance when we go into an interview, a response to an "request for proposal" (RFP), an evaluation or meeting with at the very least a well-defined plan of action that can positively ensure successful outcomes.
4. Sustain relevance. This last step involves consistent, ongoing, critical evaluation. The quality of what we evaluate is much more important then the quantity of what we are measuring. Sure we may have only made two mistakes, but the mistakes cost thousands of dollars or one or two priceless relationship. On the other hand, perhaps we have 50 clients but each of them only generates $500. Can a business survive on $25,000 or would changing the quality and the service and now the company commands $5000 per client and generates $250,000? Measuring and monitoring tasks, products, services, experiences - you decide what you want to measure, just be sure that it is meaningful.

Ascertaining, creating clarity, transforming and sustaining are approaches that can ensure relevance, that there is a "relationship to the matter or situation at hand" if you choose. The choice is yours.

Be a Little Crazy - THINK DIFFERENT

Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The ones who see things differently.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Appeared on a poster from Apple

Think Different! This slogan was used by Apple from 1997 until 2002. It still is used in some advertising with Apple.

Be a little crazy today and THINK DIFFERENT.

Today, I will think different about...

Instead of being a writer, I am an artist in words..

Instead of being a nurse, I am a health engineer.

Instead of being a consultant, I am a change agent.

Instead of being a teacher, I am a motivator.

Instead of being a student, I am a future leader.

As we actively notice our thoughts, we can appreciate that those thoughts may actually be setting the tone for the day, our live and certainly our success

Instead of being practical, I am a little crazy - No I take that back, today, I intend to be really, really crazy.

How about you? Will you be a little crazy and Think Different. I can't wait to hear the results.

Focused Yet Flexible

“Our thoughts create our reality --

where we put our focus is the direction

we tend to go."

Peter McWilliams

Author of Life 101

As I continue to research human behavior, I am once again impressed with the power of the human spirit. Each day, sometimes, each hour, we are faced with challenges - I am blessed with great health, great family and a great community. I realize that my attitude does help me a great deal, however, I'm not currently confronted with a life threatening illness, poverty, danger, downsizing. You can keep adding to the list. And, my situation could change in an instant.

Everyday I read about or talk with people who in spite of tremendous physical, mental, emotional and environmental challenges stay the course. These courageous spirits deal with the raging winds that attack their bodies, ravage their business, community and/or family and yet they still move forward.

I had a friend many years ago diagnosed with cancer. A lovely nurse with two small children. She worked night shift so that she could be home with her children during the day. She continued to work as an amazing RN - patient loved her. Loving her family- she made their Halloween costumes and decorated for the holiday every year - she made their costumes a little early the year she died - energy and life were rapidly draining away. She enjoyed October 31 her last year of life preparing her children to venture out in the neighbor hood. They didn't know this would be their mother's last time with them. She died November 14 of that same year.

Always flexible with the devastating changes, she focused on love, living and service. I do hope that presented with similar challenges that I will stay my course.