Staying Sharp

“Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers

I participated in a Dale Carnegie course many years ago and I remember the final speech from our instructor, Debbie. The point of her speech was to say that now that we have a new set of skills from the course, it’s important to keep them sharp. Debbie emphasized the point by telling a parable: A young, ambitious lumberjack was sent out for the first time and in his first few days he chopped down an impressive number of trees. However, after a week he noticed that even though he worked just as hard as he had those first days, he cut down fewer and fewer trees as each day passed. His frustration grew and finally he asked a veteran lumberjack why his productivity was dropping. The veteran asked a simple question, “How often do you sharpen your ax?”

When we come out of academia or training programs we have a set of skills and knowledge that we want to utilize to make a difference. If we are fortunate, we are placed in a position to use some of these skills and contribute to the success of the organization. However, as time marches on and the world changes, the original set of skills will need updating periodically. As with most things worth doing, staying current takes time and effort. But as the young lumberjack learned, it’s important to take the time to sharpen your ax.

Here are some ideas for staying current and keeping your skills sharp:

• Schedule time to specifically work on maintaining or improving your skills. Make self-improvement a priority and plan for specific activities.
• Read as much as possible. The internet and the library make it easy to find relevant content that may help in the quest to stay sharp.
• Read blogs related to areas of interest. Staying current in your area of interest will help to identify the skills needed to be successful. Searching for helpful blog sites can be a little tedious, but once a few are identified, they can be a great source of information for what is taking place in your industry.
• Be open to ideas from other disciplines. Looking for information as it applies to areas outside of your expertise or industry can be an interesting way to develop alternative ideas. For example, project management techniques used in one industry may be applicable to another industry.
• Look for tools that will improve your effectiveness. Being able to use software to a greater extent is always helpful. Understanding and practicing the use of programs such as Excel and Power Point will always be helpful when you are faced with new challenges involving data analysis and communicating ideas to an audience.
• Be willing to spend time learning new skills. If time isn’t available during the workday to ‘play’ with a program or on-line tool, e.g. project management software, then take the time after the workday or on a weekend to work with it. The time spent exploring the use of a tool will come in handy down the road when the opportunity presents itself.

A person who has a ‘continuous improvement’ attitude will be motivated to stay sharp and will always look for ways to improve. Conversely, it is clear that having the attitude of ‘that’s the way I’ve always done it’, is a good way to start down the slippery slope of obsolescence. It’s always going to be better to say, ‘Let’s find a better way to do it’.

Attitude is very important in today’s workplace. Showing a willingness to grow and improve will go a long way toward building a successful and fulfilling career. With Will Roger’s quote in mind, stay ahead of the pack to avoid being passed by.

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