10/30/2005

Even a Future King Worries About Remaining Relevant If you've ever wondered what Prince Charles considers the most difficult and important part of his job as Prince of Wales, wonder no more. He told Steve Croft on "60 Minutes" Sunday night that he struggles most with remaining relevant. Not exactly the answer most viewers probably expected. Many, no doubt, thought the hardest thing he deals with is paparazzi or a cranky mother. We're used to reading about his bad behavior, family tifts, speculation on how he treats his sons, and decisions he has made that has convinced many of his countrymen that he isn't worthy of the throne. Apparently, in his spare time, though, he finds time to raise over $200 million for 29 charities and represent the royal family at over 500 events a year. The fact is he is the most proactive prince Great Britain has ever had. He takes his role very seriously, even when the tabloids and critics don't. This prince believes the secret to remaining relevant is "putting my money where my mouth is" and "creating models on the ground." Croft pointed out to viewers that it was Prince Charles who first built a mixed-use planned community that brought together people of different income levels and education living and working side by side. He also pioneered organic farming over 20 years ago and it has since become a huge business in the United Kingdom. I'm sure many viewers were left with a more positive impression of Prince Charles. We learned that, to him, the essence of relevance is having influence. Not a bad definition, huh? One key lesson I took away from the Prince's interview is this: remaining relevant is, in fact, a struggle, whether it's being attempted by an individual or a company. It requires having a Strategy, being Proactive, finding a Universal appeal, and always being Dynamic. Even then, it's easy for our most relevant work to be overshadowed by things that are temporary and, well, irrelevant (such as spills from polo ponies, extramarital affairs, arguments with the Queen, etc.). Most of us will never have the opportunity to be interviewed by "60 Minutes" so we can let the world know what's really important to us. But we each can find 60 minutes each day to reflect on what we're doing to remain relevant to our constituents. Get busy... the clock is ticking!