Lessons Learned #35: Take Time To Sharpen The Saw

For many of you, this is the time of year when you start planning and looking forward to Summer vacations. For most people, a vacation is typically a time for personal relaxation, a period of time (however brief) when they can unplug from work, responsibilities or other fixed routines in life that are governed by commitments. A successful vacation can result in feeling a renewal of energy or a refreshed attitude. Most people would agree that a vacation will produce positive benefits, among them an increase in their personal effectiveness.

In a similar manner, we need to look at ways that we can achieve these goals in our businesses; to try to increase our managerial effectiveness. Those of you who have read Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” might recall that he labeled the seventh habit “sharpen the saw”. If we applied this habit to business, we could illustrate the point with the following story…

There was a manager in charge of cutting down trees to clear the way for a new project. As the task was taking longer than expected, his boss came out to see if there was a problem. The boss observed that the crew was working furiously with their saws. However, it became apparent to him that the saws had become dull in the process. When he asked his manager if he was taking the time to stop the work periodically so that they could sharpen their saws, the manager responded in amazement “why would you want me to stop their progress, can’t you see they are too busy sawing to take the time to sharpen the saws?”

As absurd or comical as this story may sound, I believe this practice is more common that you may think. Even experienced managers can fall into the trap of being so busy and absorbed in their work, that they fail to see the bigger picture or to ask the key questions about their work. Good management involves more than just making sure that workers are busy, doing their assigned task without goofing off. Management effectiveness takes into consideration how the workers are to do their assigned tasks in order to achieve the best (or optimal) results for the company. The effectiveness of management can be improved through one or more of the following:

● Education (training, seminars)
● Employing alternative means or methods (think process or tools)
● Taking a break from the routine (aka: vacation)

In order to improve your business you need to take a step back periodically to assess what you are doing, how you’re doing it, and to question it all from a fresh perspective. You need to adopt a program of continuing education for your employees (and yourself), taking what is learned and applying it to your current business practices.

Your business, much like your personal life will get stale, or boring if it isn’t refreshed periodically. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of implementing a much-needed change in your company as a result of a fresh idea that originated unexpectedly from a new employee. Or maybe you attended a seminar in which you heard something from a guest speaker that served as the catalyst for revamping your procedures. It’s reasonable for you to get into a rut if you proceed day after day, year after year with a “business as usual” approach to the management of your business and your work.

I hope I have made you more aware of the importance and the necessity to “take time to sharpen the saw.”

“Take Time To Sharpen The Saw” – Stephen Covey

For the record, I always try to practice what I preach! This is proof of a recent effort I made to “sharpen my saw” at a very nice golf course near Orlando.

Good news for those of you who have yet to purchase a copy of my book “Document to Reduce Risk”. The e-book version is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble (only $24.99). This format gives you immediate access to valuable advice and many sample documents you can use to write about typical issues on your projects (available for download through links from the e-book directly to your smart phone, tablet, or computer). With a copy of this resource, you will carry with you the tools you need to stay ahead of the game with good documentation to reduce your risk!