Give me six hours to chop down a tree…
Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe
-Abraham Lincoln
Oh dear Lord, will you hit me with the axe a couple of times before your done sharpening and put me out of my misery? Please.
This quote is often attributed to honest Abe or George Washington, but I doubt that’s true — as with many historical quotes. Just because the guy is famous for cutting down a tree and not lying about it doesn’t mean every axe-wielding self-help anecdote was quipped by the man.
I can’t stand seeing this quote referenced. Yes, I fully understand that it’s used to emphasize the importance of preparation and hard work, but it often stands as a pretense for the beloved term “hustle” know by it’s common name as “I’m afraid to ship.” Yes, research, preparation and ground work are important to any venture, but at some point, you’ve got to do the thing — whatever the thing may be. You’re over in the corner sharpening your axe and your biggest competitor has already been to market, iterated, improved and left you with your axe in your hand.
Here are a few of my recommendations instead of the grueling, think-I’m-being-productive, four-hour-axe-sharpen-fest:
- Find a friend with a chainsaw
If it takes you that long to sharpen an axe to cut a tree down (we’re still in metaphor mode here) you’re probably not very good at sharpening axes, or cutting down trees. Get a chainsaw, or better yet, find a friend who already has a chainsaw. I don’t know the context of the quote, but it sounds like we’re trying to take out a tree, not become full-time lumberjacks.
An important part of working hard and being good at growing an organization or getting things done is recognizing your weaknesses. You better believe nobody is spouting quotes like “Give me six hours to create a branding package and I’ll spend the first four watching Photoshop tutorials” or “Give me six hours to file payroll paperwork and I’ll spend the first four reading the IRS code.” I would recommend spending those four hours finding the right tool (person) for the job. If you’re that bad at something — find/hire/barter someone else to do it. Don’t do things that you’re this bad at. Find someone else to do it better, or just quit.
Me? I’m spending 15 minutes finding my friend with a chainsaw and 30 minutes later we’re drinking beer over that tree’s cold dead stump while you’re playing with your new sharpening file.
- Get the axe sharper than it is, and see how it does
You don’t need a razor sharp axe to cut a tree down. Get it sharp enough to take a couple of whacks and you’ll have a much better idea of how sharp it does or doesn’t need to be. There are a lot of people out there knocking down trees with their dad’s rusty old axes.
Don’t spend your life perfecting your pitch from the outset. Make a pitch that works, go pitch it and either make the sale or get the “no”. Then go back and figure out how to fix your pitch. Instead of spending “the first four hours” on the perfect pitch. You’ve been working on the perfect pitch for four hours (that isn’t actually perfect and wont close the sale) and I’ve pitched and improved mine to 20 different customers, closed two sales and have a much better pitch.
It’s easy to get paralyzed by “preparation” to the point that it feels like work.
Don’t “spend the first four hours” ordering business cards (I’m gonna throw your business card away) — go meet potential customers or clients or donors or whatever it is your business heart desires.
