The "X" Effect...

Hi,

The "X" Effect, was the subject line of one of my mails, which I 'sent to all' in my Dept. It was the first mail which I sent to all, just after my transfer to Mumbai and my posting as "Training Manager".

I thought of sending an introductory mail about me, but the same formality was done by HR and I wanted to mail something more impact full.

I thought about a story which I read in Shiv Khera's 'You Can Win', though this story is very common and we all must have heard it somewhere or other. But I was not able to get any other story as this one was most relevant in mentioning 'importance of training' and its regular requirement. As usual to gain attention I popped up the subject line which is the title of this post and have added a couple of paragraphs in the end of the story.

I was skeptical whether my added paragraphs are making sense or not, as the mail was going to hit many Seniors mail boxes too. But finally I clicked on 'Send'.

I got few replys telling me that mail was good, excellent etc. Some of the known colleagues have called me up to convey the same too. But what makes this mail so special for me is that even after months, many of my colleagues who do not know me in person, come across and after formal introduction recall- "Oh so you are the one who has sent 'The X Effect', that mail has really touched me, you know that day i really did this...that..etc...after getting inspired by that mail"

The mail has nothing special for those who are enjoying their life and work, doing something they like to do and are still connected with their friends. But havimg these luxuries is really a Utopian dream in today's work life.

Pasting the content of the mail below, just checkout how the last couple of paragraphs have made people feel so touched...

Sapna, Ramesh, Steve, Meera, Matthew, Vikas and so many others in the organization complained of work pressure, unachievable targets, peer pressure, time management and loss of work life balance. Despite working hard, their performance was going down and impacting organization’s bottom line.Who is to blame for poor performance of employees and business? Ask line managers; they blame it on HR for poor hiring. Ask HR; they blame it on line managers for poor management skills. Ask me, I would say, the Axe???? Now you will ask what (the h*ll) an Axe has to do in performance management? Let me tell you a small story… Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job to a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was good and so were the working conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees “Congratulations,” the boss said. “Carry on that way!”.Very motivated with the boss’s words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could bring only 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but could bring 10 trees only. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. “I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought.He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. “When was the last time you sharpened your Axe?” the boss asked.

“Sharpen??? I had no time to sharpen my Axe. I have been very busy trying to cut more trees for you.”Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to "sharpen the axe." In today's world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp? If we don't take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

This “Axe” includes some truly important things in life. E.G. taking time to pray, to read and study scripture or to listen to good music..

In Organization context “Sharpening the Axe” means revising your fundamental skills and learning the new ones. We at Training team will insure the best of the training inputs from our side, at the same time asking you to re look at the novel you bought six months back and didn’t read,

Visit the nearest music shop to search your favorite title of your college time.

Also reminding you to make calls to your old fellows whom you have missed to wish on their birthdays in last 5 very busy years…

Smile please, Have a nice time, It’s a good day today…

Luv...

VT