HTWM Retreat 2016 Making Yourself Relevant by Pst Olatunde Ajiboye
1. THEME: STANDING OUT
TOPIC: MAKING YOURSELF
RELEVANT
{Anchor Scriptures I Pet 2:9; Deut 14:2}
BY PST.
OLATUNDE AJIBOYE
2. UNDERSTANDING THE TOPIC
The Oxford English Dictionary defines
"relevance" as "the state of being closely
connected or appropriate to the matter in hand."
To be relevant is thus to be important or
significant.
To be relevant, an action or person must be
connected to a larger scheme, a grander plan--
the ultimate "matter in hand."
In the business world, to be relevant means
being an integral part of your organization, of
your company, of the economy, and of the future.
It means being the kind of person on whom
others depend, whether for leadership, expertise,
acumen, or emotional support.
3. RECIPE FOR RELEVANCE
1. Be Authentic
This entails knowing who you are at the deepest
level," being" that person in your internal thought
processes, and finally appearing to others as
you are, without pretence.
Authenticity is the foundation of relevance because
if you don't understand who you are, and where
you're "coming from, you can't possibly lead or
influence others."
You achieve authenticity through a rigorous
inventory of your strengths and a systematic
mapping of the moments in your life when you've
been both highly effective and extremely satisfied.
In practice, authenticity allows you to"be real“.
4. 2. Achieve More Mastery
Mastery is essential because, if you have no useful
skills, you cannot be useful to others.
It goes beyond mere competence and skills.
It means approaching one's life and relationships
as an act of creation, rather than a reaction to
people and events. It means expanding your
principles and practices so that they serve a greater
purpose.
You achieve mastery through a process of continu-
ous improvement of your talents and abilities. It
requires the ability to put first things first, to take
action before it is forced upon you, and to stay
5. 3. Be More Empathetic
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some
extent, share feelings being experienced by
another being.
It is the source of compassion, caring for other
people, and the desire to help. It means the ability
to experience the same emotions that another is
feeling, without undue judgment.
Empathy creates relevance because it creates the
deep connection that brings people together.
6. 3. CONTD
In business, there are three levels of empathy viz:
i}"on demand" empathy-which is the ability to sense
what customers want.
Ii}"solution" empathy, which entails understanding a
customer's problem and figuring out how to address it.
Iii} "transcendent" empathy where you create
solutions to problems that customers don't even
know that they have.
7. 4. UNDERSTAND THE ORGANIZATION'S DIRECTION
This is crucial for you as you cannot be relevant
when loose focus/track of the organization’s
direction.
You must know and have a good understanding of
her Vision, Mission statement, the strategies to be
employed for the vision to become a reality while
you find and identify your own place of assignment
for value addition.
8. 5. Know Your Customer/Get Your Customer to Know You
In making yourself relevant you must identify and
know your target audience. In this context, people
that wants to be raised, the poor that wants to be
rich and the rich that wants to be richer!
The next step in making yourself relevant is to
create a promotional/ advertising campaign for your
brand. Ask yourself how your product — skills,
experience, and education-enables you to better
serve your targeted audience?
9. 6. Take More Action
It is your actions, ultimately, that make you relevant to
others. All the authenticity, mastery and empathy in the
world remain sterile, until and unless put into motion. It is
through action that you change yourself and change the
world. Without action, even a great and brilliant mind and
soul remains entirely irrelevant.
Action has four elements: impetus, vector, acceleration
and velocity. Impetus determines whether you consider
the action important enough to take. Vector is the direction
your action takes you either towards your goals or away
from it.
Acceleration reflect your level of commitment and how
much action you're willing to take. Velocity is the energy
that carries you forward, even when you're not fully aware
10. 7. Know When to Stay and When to Leave
Knowing when one season is over and one is ready
to begin is a crucial skill you must have if you are
to remain relevant.
There is time for everything under the heaven and
just like the men of Issahcar you need to have the
understanding of time so as to know what to do per
time.
Likewise learn how to say No when it is necessary!
11. 8. STEADFASTNESS
The place of steadfastness is key in making
yourself relevant.
Steadfastness is keeping to ones track without
making allowance for distractions. It is going
onward and forward inspite all odds {oppositions,
rejection and hostilities}.
Is 50:7 speaks of Christ steadfastness in prophecy
“for the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not
be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a
flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed”.
12. REFERENCES
Abraham became relevant on the platform of
sacrifice.
David’s rose from zero to hero through absolute
dependence on God which reminds us that no
giant is unbeatable.
Job showed that perseverance will help you get
through anything
Esther became relevant via the mentality of if I
perish, I perish
Mary was of relevance through holiness and
humility.
Jesus Christ our perfect example
13. CONCLUSION
Paul said in I Cor.13 “If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing”.
Therefore, without the demonstration of the love of
God which is embedded in the practice of the
covenant, there is no relevance! For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand so that we
would walk in them {Eph.2:10}
Making yourself relevant is by taking responsibility in
God’s agenda, hence you must position yourself to be
used of Him even as you remain planted by the river
side!
