Sustaining your advantage through relevance….. Saheed Bilewu

ADVANTAGE according to the dictionary: it is a position or circumstance that puts one in a favorable or superior position or the opportunity to gain something; benefit or profit. The definition clearly shows that an advantage can be an edge over something or someone or privilege.

Advantage is what risk takers, decision makers, policy makers, competitors or contemporaries always want to have to achieve better or successful results or programs. Because nature has not blessed or distributed resources and capabilities evenly we all are by this design of nature compelled to make do with what we have by efforts that are resourceful or beneficial as the case may be.

Scarcity and wants make our decisions or actions to be consciously desperate or unwisely laggard in attaining the needed ability to satisfy or surpass these opposing scenarios we are constantly faced with.

Because wants and scarcity are inevitable nature’s doings we need to make decisions that can ameliorate or comfort us.Decisions will be driven by options and opinions that must be advantageous to our circumstances or positions.

However,nature has been kind to us by giving us an ADVANTAGE whether in terms of capacity or capability, surely this is what we have at our disposals. Whether as pioneers, champions, inventors, philanthropists, leaders, preachers, advisers, amateurs, veterans, teachers, students, parents or children certainly whichever role we found ourselves playing there is an advantage inherent.

My concern is how much do we do to make this ADVANTAGE relevant? I remember back in the days, it was customary that the village head always enjoy advantage that is far reaching in decision making, now the advantage can be described as a town crier for the central government because this role no longer command that relevant advantage for today’s policy making process; also was the chief priest of the whole community who had the advantage of being the only person to be consulted in the ascendancy of the king but that influence he commands do not have a relevant advantage in the political structure of modern governance. This  brings me down memory lane, the days of the post offices which use to be the most reliable,dependable and cheapest means of communication has lost that relevance of advantage to the revolutionary mode of exchanging mails called electronic mail (e-mails). In recent time, the humongous influence OPEC had in the world oil trade is gradually becoming an irrelevant advantage because of the increasing discoveries and neoteric means of extracting crude oil other nations outside OPEC are exploring. In the same light, is the silent rebellious incursion of capitalism over communism which is dismantling monopoly structure for free-market entreprise model. Not to forget the monarchy form of government which has almost gone into oblivion for the democratic system of government where election and not selection determines the rule of governance. Back home there were few establishments that failed to realized that only advantage kept in the realms of relevance can survive the wind of change NITEL, NEPA, PHCN, NIPOST NIGERIA AIRWAYS and of course not too distant in the future Nigeria Railways and NNPC will cave in to the thunderous effect of change which will not happen for destruction but for disruptive reasoning being witnessed in the way businesses are conducted.

Therefore, for an individual your ADVANTAGE today will only remain an advantage tomorrow if you make constant efforts to keep it relevant. Be you an individual, corporate body or government, remember, this advantage may exist but can it be sustained? As a journalist will this advantage be relevant in the spate of citizen journalism or crowd sourcing of information? As a banker are you considering the mushrooming effect of BITCOIN (digital currency) to the brick-and-mortar model? A cab or taxi company have you thought of your relevance of advantage when ridesharing finally creeps in? Or as an airline do you think new alliances will not leave you alone in the wilderness of aviation business? As a teacher or lecturer are you envisioning the impact of virtual classrooms, online teaching e.t.c? These questions will keep coming until the answers lash on the realities in our lives only then would we realise that sustaining one’s advantage through relevance is the way forward.

An expert is imminently faced with the image of a veteran. You can stay evergreen by sustaining your advantage through relevance. Parents will keep their advantage relevant when their moral credentials are held pristine. A government will make its advantage relevant if it continually delivers on its promises.

A food for thoughts.