Sharpening your Axe

Once upon a time, there were two woodcutters. The young woodcutter was like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the “Terminator” and the older woodcutter was like Arnold the “Govenator.” (The previous sentence may qualify as one of the worst analogies ever used in this newsletter.) The young woodcutter feeling his youth one day challenged the older woodcutter to a contest.

“Old man I’ll bet you a weeks pay I can cut down more trees in a day than you can,”

The old woodcutter replied, “I’ll take that bet.”

At the sound of the whistle, the contest began. Both woodcutters chewed into the trees. After about an hour the older woodcutter stop and sat down, while the young woodcutter continued to chop. After about ten minutes, the old woodcutter got up, stretched, and began chopping again. This routine continued the rest of the day. The old woodcutter would stop once every hour for about 10 minutes, while the young woodcutter continued cutting. At the end of the day, the young woodcutter had felled seven trees and the old woodcutter had cut down 10 trees of equal size.

The young woodcutter thought, "I must be losing my strength." He finally blurted out, “How could you cut down more trees than me, when I worked all day and you rested so much?”

The old woodcutter responded, "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?"

"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy cutting trees."

“Each time I stopped I sharpened my axe.”

Moral: Some of us seldom sharpen our skills. We think that whatever we have learned is enough, but good is not good when better is expected. Sharpening our skills from time to time is the key to success. Evaluate your strengths and identify areas you would like to strengthen join a site-based learning community, become a member of your site’s staff development team, and/or visit the HRD website and check out what is available in the District through PDSS. Working hard is one thing but when you work hard and smart everyone wins. (adapted from a story heard at a conference.)

Source: Dr, Doug Miller, HRD Program Facilitator,