If we are going to make a difference, we must remain relevant.
Relevance matters. If you’ve decided you don’t care about relevance, you’ve decided you don’t care about impact. You can bemoan it or belabor it, but you need to believe it if you want to make impact.
Army General Eric Shinseki famously said, “if you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
So relevance is not just a buzzword – it’s crucial to your influence. The method you choose to obtain relevance is important.
It may seem like the solution is pretty straightforward – chase after every new thing, jump on every trend, or obsess over social media likes. But here’s what I’ve learned:
Relevance isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about standing the test of time.
Let me give you an example from a field you probably don’t hear me talk about much: fashion. Fashion changes all the time – new seasons, new trends. Baggier then slimmer. High cut then low rise.
Style, on the other hand, is different. You can keep your style even when new trends emerge. Yves Saint Laurent said, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” That doesn’t mean you completely ignore the latest fashion approaches, but you understand a style that is true to who you are.
The same is true in life and in leadership. Relevance is a long game. It’s not about making a big splash today and being forgotten tomorrow. It’s about consistently delivering value, rolling with the changes without losing sight of who you are, and staying connected with the people you lead and serve.
As leaders, we should be aiming to create lasting impact. It’s helpful to stay informed about what’s happening in your industry and the world. We need to adjust our strategies and methods, but it must be filtered all through our values and our long-term vision.
Remember, being relevant doesn’t mean being everything to everyone. It’s about being meaningful to those who matter most – your team, your customers, your stakeholders. It’s about really getting what they need and what challenges they’re facing, and continually finding ways to step up and meet those needs.
So, here’s my challenge to you: don’t get caught up chasing the latest trend. Fix your focus on your unchanging purpose and principles.
