“We must never become too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw.” – Stephen Covey

You may have heard the phrase take time to sharpen the saw. As we enter a holiday weekend in the USA it's a good time to make sure we're sharp. However, before checking sharpness, make sure you're using the tool correctly. A guy I worked with, Dave Franz, told me this joke many years ago:
A good-ol-boy (Dave was from Arkansas) comes to town and goes to the hardware store. He sees a chainsaw. "What's that," he asks. The store owner sees a fresh mark and proceeds to sell him the top-of-the-line model, saying that it will cut through over 100 trees in one day.
"100 in one day?"
"100."
The good-ol-boy takes the chainsaw back to the styx and begins working on a tree. After working for over three hours he only cuts down two trees.
“100 a day. Sheesh. I cut for hours and hours and only finish two trees” he says, shaking his head in disgust.
Not one to give up, the next morning he gets up early in the morning and works until nighttime, but still only manages to cut down five trees.
The next day the good-ol-boy loads up the chainsaw and heads back to town. He puts the chainsaw on the counter with a thud and demands his money back. "No way I can cut 100 trees in a day."
The owner shrugs his shoulders. "Well maybe 100 is an exaggeration. Let me see what I can do for you."
The owner inspects the machine, pulling the cord, starting the chainsaw.
The good-ol-boy jumps back in shock.
“What’s that noise?”
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