Photo by Romario Roges on Unsplash

“Will we still be relevant one year from today? Will I still be relevant one year from today?”

That’s it.

Right there.

That’s the secret, unvoiced fear that I’m sensing from a lot of leaders.

And, if not one year, certainly two.

It’s the relevance question.

Here’s what it looks like:

• You feel like your last truly great idea was years ago.

• You know you should be keeping up with every change, but you feel like you’re falling further behind every day.

• You and your team come up with lots of ideas, but they’re all just variations of the same old ideas, none of them move the needle, and few—if any—actually get done.

And look, I get it. I’ve been there too. In times of rapid change, overwhelm is real. And it’s easy to think everyone else has it figured out…except you.
You and your team.
You and your business.

Ever feel that way? (C’mon…be honest.)

Here’s the secret: So does everyone else.

But here’s the good news: Becoming relevant is actually easier than most people think.

Not effortless.
Not overnight.

But easier.

In fact, most teams that I work with unlock relevance and innovation by making just a few small shifts. Here are three that work for my clients:

1. ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
   Same questions = same answers. Change the question—even slightly—and you change the possibilities.
   Instead of “How do we do this faster?” try:

   • “What would make this unnecessary?”

   • “What would our boldest, scariest competitor do?”

2. BORROW IDEAS FROM OUTSIDE YOUR INDUSTRY.
   Innovation rarely comes from staring harder at your own problems.
   Look at how others—totally unrelated to you—solve their problems.
   Then ask, “How can I apply this solution to my situation?”

3. START WITH VERSION 1.0.
   Too many teams wait for perfect.
   But perfect is slow. Perfect is expensive. Perfect is late.
   Build the small, safe version first—the quick test, the fast experiment.
   Momentum beats perfection every time.

Here’s what I’ve found: When leaders and teams make shifts like these, relevance stops feeling like a moving target. It becomes something manageable. Something doable.

If relevance is the question, consider this your weekend prompt.

(BTW, if you’d like some help putting these shifts into practice with your team, I’m always happy to talk. Just reach out.)