As my wife and I were buying a set of kitchen knives yesterday, I discovered something I had never realised before. In a quiet but authoritative voice, the woman behind the counter said, ‘You have to sharpen your knives after the first three uses and frequently thereafter’. Interesting advice, I thought,

I asked what made her suggestion important. And, her response? If you don’t sharpen your knives in the manner suggested, they are likely to lose their edge and require regrinding to retain them

This brief encounter had me thinking of kitchen knives (tools) as a metaphor for the unique strengths and talents each of us brings to the challenges, and opportunities we face every day. We really do owe it to ourselves, colleagues, and our employing organisations to keep on working on ourselves.

Unfortunately, as author Dave Anderson observes, “The leaders of successful organisations often think they’ve got it all figured out. So they continue to work hard on their jobs but stop working on themselves. They use their experience and track records as license to never read another book or attend another course in their field”.

Even if Dave Anderson’s observation is not an accurate description of your attitude and actual behaviour, could you benefit from sharpening your knives (unique strengths and talents) more intentionally?

The book Boss Talk comprises a series of interviews with twenty of the world’s top CEO. It’s a compilation put together by the editors of the Wall Street Journal.

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Today I was talking to a very able senior manager who like most of us has been watching with interest how Prime Minister Brown has assembled his top team. Prior to the announcement of the new Cabinet, journalists were evidently trying to outdo each other in second guessing.

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