What is RUNIN?

RUNIN the Name

So what is RUNIN and why are there so many applications to this name? Contrary to what you may believe, RUNIN does not refer to the art of running (although there are many commonalities). RUNIN is actually a back acronym:

Reflecting 

Reflection starts with oneself but does not stop there—it is looking at the surface as well as probing deeper beyond. It is about understanding your abilities and capabilities as well as being open about your mistakes and shortcomings. When looking inward during the process of reflection, the point is to figure out where one stands in relation to the world. In order for these lessons to be valuable, we must consider those around us, and we should be open to share as well as learn from others.

Reflecting on Relationships is about seeing the interconnectedness of many things. This principle is about realizing that many things in life are truly connected-- the situations, events, and decisions of today be synched and in balance and this health-work-life continuum has a direct impact on our future. Reflection can also mean spirituality -- your daily quest to prepare your mind and body for inspiration and enlightenment. As you observe your reflection, other images will emerge—those of the lives around you.

Reflecting also applies to Remembering our history and to appreciate the sacrifices and achievements of those who have came before us and who has made a significant difference in our lives. Remembering also includes understanding mistakes of the past, both your own and those from other people who we can learn from.

Personally, I am a lumper and not a clumper. To clump is to put things in individual boxes, compartmentalize and then relegate core elements in life to labels and stereotypes. In contrast, to lump is to remove walls, to appreciate the value of "one village" and to change the integrity of the things that are being brought together.

Understanding 

Another important value is to understand the world and the community around you. First we should try to understand others before trying to be understood. When visiting a tenant, it is important to not just collect rent or to check on the property, but to get to know them and to learn about their community through the stories they have to tell. We listen, we understand, we learn, we UNITE.

Negotiating

In life, whatever hand you’re dealt is the hand that you have to play. However don't just submit it's worth to face value -- find it's true value and then negotiate your goals with other players. Before acting you should weigh every option. It makes it more difficult but in return, you get more out of life. I don’t like hearing people say we should do something a certain way because it has always been that way. In Runin’s approach, there are no set ways to approach a problem all the time – one size does not fit all, and life is too important to not try on another suit.

A decision should be made through negotiation but the numbers also need to be checked, refined and considered. Numbers is not just for balance sheets. It also connotes time, number of calories expended, distance to travel, etc.  If your numbers are not balanced, then your plans may fall into the rocks.

Innovating

Innovation is not just about machines, technology and hardware. It is about people, ideas and software. Innovation is about sharing and tapping into people’s ideas -- a process we know today as Social Media. If people are using the internet in the same way that they were a few years ago, then they are behind the power curve. Web 2.0 means that the internet as an efficiency tool has drastically improved and we are just in the early stages. Social media is about leveraging people’s ideas and sharing it freely and instantaneously across the world.

Navigating

To use a shipboard analogy, when you’re navigating, you are taking regular fixes to try and determine where you are. In life, people are not on a fixed course. Part of navigating is being OK with changing your course even if it means turning 180 degrees.

If you are going the wrong way, you need to be mature enough to admit it, cut your losses, and find out what it takes to turn around to arrive at your destination.  There are times when you will realize that you are going in the wrong direction; it is OK to turn around as long as you don’t run aground and incur any permanent, significant damages.