Thank you to the Project Management Institute, and especially PMI
Tampa Bay, for continuing to include me in your symposiums since 2007! One of
the things I shared on September 12th during my keynote on The Four Questions
Many Leaders Overlook was this:
Each of us has a dream, or many dreams, and imagine there was a guy who had the dream to be a lumberjack. So, instead of just dreaming, he set out to make it his reality. So, he bought a few flannel shirts and an axe, and he moved to Minnesota to live, practice, and eventually pursue a position as a tree cutting lumberjack. With some practice, he found he could cut down 14 trees a day consistently. Off to a tree farm/ranch for a position he went! He got the job, and sure enough, he got 14 trees cut and the manager was pleased, and so was he. Weeks later, he was struggling to get to 14. Days following, he only got 12 trees, and then 10, and eventually, he only got 5 trees per day...even though he was arriving early, staying late and skipping lunch. Finally, deflated, he went to the manager, and said he had a few questions for him including "What could he do?", "How do people do it?", "Were there supplements he could take?", and more. Instead of answering the questions, the manager replied that he only had one question for him, and that question was "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?". The new lumberjack said "Sharpened my axe? But I was far too busy cutting down trees all day every day!!".
Each of us has a dream, or many dreams, and imagine there was a guy who had the dream to be a lumberjack. So, instead of just dreaming, he set out to make it his reality. So, he bought a few flannel shirts and an axe, and he moved to Minnesota to live, practice, and eventually pursue a position as a tree cutting lumberjack. With some practice, he found he could cut down 14 trees a day consistently. Off to a tree farm/ranch for a position he went! He got the job, and sure enough, he got 14 trees cut and the manager was pleased, and so was he. Weeks later, he was struggling to get to 14. Days following, he only got 12 trees, and then 10, and eventually, he only got 5 trees per day...even though he was arriving early, staying late and skipping lunch. Finally, deflated, he went to the manager, and said he had a few questions for him including "What could he do?", "How do people do it?", "Were there supplements he could take?", and more. Instead of answering the questions, the manager replied that he only had one question for him, and that question was "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?". The new lumberjack said "Sharpened my axe? But I was far too busy cutting down trees all day every day!!".
So,
I ask you: When was the last time YOU sharpened your axe? And, are you
busy cutting down trees? Get sharp, and sharpen your axe by:
- Surrounding yourself with successful people
- Knowing how you define success
- Investing in yourself and others
- Keeping an open mind to change (sound familiar?)
- Be willing to work for results
- Ask others for input
- Share ideas for the advancement of others
- Be happy for those who are doing well
And, stay open to what will serve you, and your dreams well as you
spend time and energy to fuel those dreams into reality!
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