Sometimes, you hear a phrase andit won't let you go.  That combination of words burrowsdeep down in your brain somewhere between the logical and emotionalparts of your consciousness, buried for the moment, but justwaiting to explode and take.

For me, I had that experience in late 2018, and it hasn't letgo. At least not yet… "The price of relevance is fluency."

Yep.  It's yours now too. Those words from Anil Dash are both yours and mine todeal with now.

Anil was writing about culture, power, public platforms, speech,language, criticism, and the age-old phenomenon of change that hasbeen accelerated due to upheaval we experience today as the resultsof our technologically connected society.

And, the same thing happening in our microcosm society that Icommonly refer to as 'broker world."

I'm privy to many conversations and perspectives thanks to thedifferent networks and cohorts of brokers, thought leaders andcherished peers that I'm lucky enough to talk with every day. Andthere is a common theme that arises over and over again: "How will I survive the next big change?"

This uncertainty has been voiced in various ways that range fromtechnology to talent acquisition to knowledge, and even just basicpersonal fears about our capacity to adapt.

"The price of relevance is fluency."

To stay relevant and continue to provide value to your clients,immersion in the culture, language, and society at large is notoptional.

There was a time when technology was a layer we used as a toolto perform a task, but technology is now a layer upon which welive, and it goes deeper than any task or any specificsoftware.  Technology has become part of the fabric of ournature, rivaled only by relationships, air, water, and food.

There was a time when geographical differences and nuances wereunderstood as easily as gender and religious backgrounds, but thattime has passed to the point that attentive listening andclarifying conversations are necessary to understand our clients.Today, we must shed the baggage of our assumptions from the pastthat now fail us and keep us from becoming the advisors that ourneighbors and community deserves.

"Broker world" also faces the challenge of a cultural attitudeand societal undertone that we as the American people feel hopelessand powerless in the fight for our earnings and extremely uncaredfor in an impersonal health care system.

To be completely dismissive of the Medicare for All movement is a blind spot thatmany of us are susceptible to.  But if we don't engagewith the problems driving the huge dissatisfaction with today'shealth care system, we will completely lose relevance.

We face a huge task that will take a lifetime to achieve.

Fortunately, when you look in the eyes of those whom we serve, alifetime of improvement is just the minimum effort theydeserve.

We can do better. Our clients deserve better.

Our clients deserve relevant advice, and the price is fluencywith today's and tomorrow's culture.

Bret Brummit is the founder of GenerousBenefits, an employee benefits firm that measures eachengagement by the question "Did we improve them?"​