WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SHARPENED YOUR AXE?

Long ago, a very strong woodcutter

was in the look-out for a job. He met
a large timber merchant operating in
that area, who got impressed with
him and offered him the job, but,
with a condition that he should bring
at least 50 trees a week, in exchange
for a wage of US$ 5 per tree. The
merchant then handed over an axe
to him .

Agreeing to the target, the woodcut-

ter was determined to do his best. He
exerted his efforts to maximise the
output and could do 51 trees during
the first week.

“Congratulations, you are doing a fantastic job. Keep it up,” said the mer-
chant. Very motivated by the boss’s words, the woodcutter tried much hard-
er during the second week, but could only bring 45 trees. In the following
week he tried even harder, but managed to bring only 40 trees. Week after
week, he brought lesser and lesser number of trees to the mill thereby tak-
ing home lower pay.

“What happened to me? Did I lose my strength and energy or is the target
too difficult to achieve” thought the woodcutter. He felt that doing 50 trees
a week consistently is difficult or impossible in the normal working condi-
tions. He went to his boss and expressed his situation.

“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” asked the chief.
“Sharpening? I did not have time to sharpen my axe. You gave me stiff tar-
gets to do every week. I was busy all through the day only chopping trees.”
The merchant replied back saying “I gave you a sharpened axe when you
started your work. Using that axe you could do 51 trees that week. But, you
forgot to sharpen your axe thereafter. The axe continued to lose its sharp-
ness and so did you in the productivity. Try sharpening your axe and check
your performance this week.” The woodcutter realised he never paid atten-
tion to the requirement to sharpen his axe.

Developing our hard and soft skills is the analogy to sharpening the axe. It is
not enough if we keep working hard along without developing our skills. We
have to constantly spend quality time learning new topics and acquiring
new skills and techniques. This only will help us to stay on top of our job.

KEEP SHARPENING YOUR AXE!