Message of the Day - The Right Tools

Good Morning,

 

So there I was at the Louisville Main Post Office with my key in my mail box and it won't open. The key slide in easy enough, but it just would not turn. I jiggled it a bit, but failed to open the box. I pulled the key out and then slide it back in again, just to make sure it was in deep enough, and still I couldn't open the lock.

 

As I stood there, starting to get a bit frustrated, I thought of reasons why this key was not working. I thought of all the places I had to go and that the roads were still bad from the recent snow fall, and why wasn't that key working?

 

About a minute and a half into my ordeal, I looked at the key chain which held the key I was using in my futile attempt to access the mailbox and that is when the flush of embarrassment washed over me. I had the wrong key. This post office also has the mail box for the Scottish Society of Louisville.

 

This reminded me of the times when I had the wrong tool to do a job. That no matter how focused and driven I was, the work rarely ran smooth and easy when you use the wrong tool to get the job done.

 

• Using a shovel instead of an ice chopper to chip ice off a walkway.
• Using some clamps on a stair banister instead of a vise to cut a pipe.
• Using needle-nose pliers instead of tweezers to get a splinter.

 

Having the right tool often leads to both a shorter turnaround time in completing the job and at the same time, an increase in the overall quality of the job.

 

The right tools, though, don't have to be limited to hardware and gardening gadgets. The right tools could be using a spreadsheet for statistical calculations instead of a calculator and pad of paper.

 

The right tools could be using a SWOT Analysis to work you way through a problem rather than getting a list and choosing the best option.

 

When you realize that what you are doing is not working, or is taking too long, is too cumbersome, etc., maybe it is time to ask yourself if you are using the right tools?

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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