If you ask attendants at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting how they’re doing, the most likely response is, “we’re in recovery;” meaning they know they’re not perfect, but they’re working on it. That desire to improve is what moves you through life: the potential of being better.

The four stages of the Repurposing Sequence below provide the opportunity to assess your performance to keep up with the demands of the job. It’s driven by questions that achievers are known to ask themselves, “Is what I know noew good enough? If it is, then how long is this going to last? What will I need to know in the future to continue expanding my knowledge base?”

There’s a natural resistance to asking questions like these because they tend to unsettle people and make them doubt their worth and value. It is difficult and potentially embarassing to face up to the realization that no matter how good they’re today it may not be good enough tomorrow.

Stage 1. Unconscious Incompetence – The “Couldn’t care less stage.” There are parts of your job performance where you are sorely lacking, and you’re not meeting performance expectations. There’s no motivation to repurpose your efforts. You’re doing poorly, but you don’t know it and you don’t want to chance finding out either.

Stage 2. Conscious Incompetence – The “Whoops! I had no idea” stage. Suddenly you’re aware that your lack of knowledge is having a deleterious effect on your performance. It’s time to repurpose your efforts and upgrade your skills. You accept the need to learn new skills. You’re motivated to improve.

Stage 3. Conscious Competence – The “Wow, look what I can do” stage. You’ve overcome the problem. Everything is running smoothly and you have no motivation to take on anything new. Life is good. Your performance is meeting expectations. Things are just the way you want them.

Stage 4. Unconscious Competence – The “Everything’s fine” stage. Your performance ratings are high. You’re taking care of existing problems but not scanning for new ones on the horizon. Even though you’re starting to get sloppy, you’re satisfied with the status quo and see no need to upgrade.

What makes Stage 4 so dangerous is that no one seems concerned about your declining performance. This stage is the worse one to be in because there’s no motivation to repurpose. Sadly, unless something or someone wakes you up, the conscious incompetence stage lies just ahead.