As kids - we all looked forward to graduation.  It was a day to celebrate the end of school - maybe even forever!

The best of us realize this shouldn’t be the case.  Unfortunately, that mindset is flawed.  Some of us were lucky enough to understand this shortly into adulthood, some took longer; but hopefully all of us realized it at some point.

As professionals who want to succeed, and as a result, we desire to grow.  

Sharpen the Axe

One famous quote (widely misattributed to Abraham Lincoln) states, “Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe”.  

When you dig further, there’s quite a bit to unpack in that quote:

How many of us would be tempted to immediately start chopping away?

Or after 30 minutes of sharpening, call it “good enough”?

Or not have the patience at all and… not do the work?

To be honest, all those options are tempting.  The quote certainly speaks to preparation for the task ahead.  But I think it also says something about discipline, patience, and work ethic required to do a job well.

Sharpening the axe is part of the work.

Tandem firmly believes we should continuously sharpen our axes.  We want to focus our skills, deepen our knowledge, challenge the way we think, and continue becoming better at the work our clients trust us to do.

It prepares us for the task of helping clients.

It improves our discipline to stay focused.

It challenges our work ethic to continue driving for better results.

And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that experience shouldn’t be an excuse to stop learning.

There will always be another book to read, conference to attend, professional to learn from, strategy to study, or assumption of our own worth challenging.

That's a good thing.

Our clients aren't standing still. Their businesses change. Their families change. Their goals change. The financial world around them changes.

We shouldn't stand still either.

There probably isn't another graduation ceremony waiting for us at the end of our careers. No moment when someone hands us a diploma and tells us we've finally learned enough.

And maybe that's the point.

There's always another axe to sharpen.