When she first tried Twitter, Cher said, she felt old and stupid: She was slow and clumsy with the social media channel; many of its other users were born well after her first hit song. But she persisted, she told a TV interviewer, because she wanted a real-time forum in which to express her views.
Now, 3.5 million fans follow the 70-year-old singer's emoji-laced, widely shared tweets. By choosing to master Twitter, she has burnished her star power, boosted her brand and touched lives. In short, she stayed relevant.
In an era of disruption, technological advances, new workplace trends and constantly emerging communication styles, everyone needs to follow Cher's example: Embrace change to stay relevant and effective.
Today, "relevant" means current and connected with what's happening in your industry and the world. Doing so helps workers remain employable, relate to younger customers, influence the next generation and protect their careers. And it helps business leaders make better decisions.
Fail to stay relevant, and you become stale — as a person, leader, employee or organization.
So in the quest to "stay relevant" on the job, how do you begin?
The first step: Assess whether you have the tech skills you'll need. And look at what colleagues and competitors are doing: What emerging technology are they adopting? Learn these tools, and become comfortable with them. There are efficiencies to be gained in the workplace by adopting new apps, software, platforms and devices. They can keep businesses and professional lives running more smoothly.
People are embracing the process of ongoing learning by experimenting, watching online tutorials, subscribing to newsletters, participating in webinars and certification programs, going back to school and asking younger employees for help.
