Sharpening the Axe

If I only had one hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe. Unknown (but sometimes credited to Abraham Lincoln)

Since it is President’s Day weekend, I thought it appropriate to select a Quote of the Week from Abraham Lincoln. Upon doing some research, I learned that The Abraham Lincoln Association states that there is no evidence that Lincoln said, “If I only had one hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.” But I’ve chosen this quote anyway – I like it!

The quote suggests that preparation may be 75% of the battle when you have a task to do.

I’m not sure I have ever used an axe to chop down a tree – maybe a small bush. However, I have certainly used an axe to chop up old tree roots from our yard in Virginia. Until recently, our property had several trees that were more than 50 feet tall. Professional tree removal services cut them down with chain saws. They also removed the stumps. However, I had to use a very sharp axe to remove extended root systems so we could plant shrubs and flowers. I tried working with a dull axe, but found that it just bounced off those hardy old tree roots! I spent a lot of time “sharpening the axe!”

Of course, this quote also applies to other situations where preparation (or having the right tool) is equally important. For example, effective presenters often spend three hours (or a lot more) preparing for a one-hour presentation. Have you ever attended a presentation when it became evident that the presenter had not adequately prepared the material or tested the audio/visual equipment?

Questions for Reflection

•  How does “sharpening the axe” apply in your personal life? In your job?

• In which situations is taking enough time to “sharpen the axe” a priority for you?

• Are there situations in which you assumed that a tool was “sharp enough” but it wasn’t?

• How do you go about “sharpening your thinking” on a regular basis?