I’ve been wrestling lately with the very concept of resource management and how it applies to everyone. An initial reaction when some people are introduced to Regenerative Resource Management is one of “Great! I’m not a manager, so it doesn’t apply to me, but good on ya for writing something.” The unfortunate thing about this particular reaction is that not only is it not true, but you are precisely the person that RRM was written for! Join in the effort.
You see, all of us manage resources in one degree or another. Just because your company hasn’t bestowed upon you the magic title of “manager” doesn’t mean that they haven’t entrusted some resources to your influencing actions. Even before I was a manager I focused on proper management of the resources under my influence. Your actions influence resources that the company owns. They’re hope is that you manage those resources in such a way as to add value to the company. You don’t need a title to manage resources at the workplace. You just need to work.
Consider your home life as well. Perhaps you still live with your parents, you don’t have a car, and the stuff in your room is all you’ve got. When you are young you start with little resources under your influence. But it isn't "no resources", you still have some resources under your influence. There is always some influence to exert. Where there is influence, there is potential.
Resources, and your ability to influence them, can be separated into three categories: Resources you directly influence, resources you indirectly influence, resources you influence but of which you are unaware. We will refer to these unaware resource influences as contextual influence. So, we’ve got direct, indirect, and contextual resource influences. Every single person on the planet has these resources. Every single person on the planet, through their actions, conducts this influence on their resources.
The whole point of Regenerative Resource Management is acknowledge that influence and plan to improve it. It isn’t easy, so you use a framework to help keep it all together, plus the world is a very distracting place so you use guidelines to refine your decisions, and you don’t know the future so you use a feedback loop to make sure it’s working. It’s a simple and effective process that allows you to focus on the things that are truly important to you.
Using the RRM system as you approach your career will lead you to identify and articulate the ideal work experience in your role. You’ll be able to identify not only the resources you can influence, but the ways and means in which you can influence them to work toward the ideal you articulated. In this manner you gain competence in your role at work as well as competence in the craftsmanship of managing resources. Hone this craft. It's the foundation upon which all economic domains are built.
Using the RRM system in your personal life encourages you to articulate the future you want for yourself in the Future Context Statement. You’ll develop a plan of action that is ongoing and adaptive that is aimed at creating the resources required in your Future Context Statement. It’s not as complicated as many make it out to be. It’s just taking a “goal setting” approach to the next level.
Download Regenerative Resource Management. A Primer. Read it. See how the principles can be applied in your career, family, and personal lives. Adapt the process to your context and create a unique plan built for you…by you.