Let me share an inspirational story with you, a metaphor which was a catalyst for my personal educational growth and my very own paradigm shift. Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber mill, and he got it. Th e pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first week, the woodcutter cut down eighteen trees. ‘Congratulations,’ the boss said. ‘Continue going that way!’ Very motivated by hearing the boss’s words, the woodcutter tried harder the next week, but he only could bring fi fteen trees. The third week he tried even harder, but he could only cut down ten trees. Week after week he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees. ‘I must be losing my strength’, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologised, saying that he could not understand what was going on. ‘When was the last time you took time out to sharpen your axe?’ the wise boss asked. ‘Sharpen my axe? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been too busy trying to cut trees …’ The next week after learning this valuable lesson from his boss the woodcutter went and did a joint venture with a chainsaw company and was able to broker a deal with the timber mill where he made a percentage of the increased profit as a result of any productivity increases. Armed with his new education and strategies he was able to cut down 180 trees a week and retired in just seven months.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 01:55:13 +0000