Sharpening My Saw

Two of my coworkers returned today from a three day course in Change Management. I attended this same course, with the same facilitator, about eight months ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. I came back at that time full of energy and ideas, and ready to implement some positive changes in my department.

Then, work happened. The big ideas I had while at this Change Management course were still there, but they kept being pushed further and further back in my mind as more pressing issues came up. Deep in the recesses of my mind are several great ideas for positive change, but they have been lying dormant for several months now.

Some of these old ideas started to bubble up to the surface again today as my coworkers talked about their course. It was fun to see them talking about the concepts of the class, using a common language to describe big ideas. As I talked with them about their experiences, I had a twinge of regret that I hadn't been able to harness the passion I had coming out of my own class.

I suppose that is why I've never wanted to sell any of my college text books. Whether I'm taking classes at the University, or through Learning & Development at work, I always come away with two things: big ideas I can't wait to implement, and a strong sense that I haven't learned everything yet. So I hang on to my text books and manuals, thinking I'll get back to them some day soon. The problem is, the day will never come unless I plan for it to.

I think the real challenge for me is to prioritize my learning pursuits, and allocate proper follow-up time to actually implement some of the ideas I've wanted to pursue for so long. In one class I completed not long ago about coaching styles, the instructor said that we should schedule follow-up coaching sessions with our team within two weeks of the class. She said that research studies had shown that the probability of someone actually following-up on a class drops off rapidly at the two week mark.

Perhaps it isn't too late to harness the energy and ideas I've had from countless classes in my academic and business career. I just need to focus on one thing at a time, and block time off in my calendar to do it. As Stephen Covey would put it, it's time to sharpen my saw.

Light it up...

Rob