A woodcutter Shyam worked for a company for 5 years but never got a
raise.
The company hired Ram and within a year Ram got a raise. This irritated
Shyam and he went to talk to his boss. The boss said “You are still cutting the
same amount of wood as you did 5 years ago. We are a result-oriented company
and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity increases.”
Shyam
went back and started hitting harder and putting in extra working hours but was
not able to cut more trees. He went back to his boss to talk to him. The boss
told Shyam to go and talk to Ram. “Maybe there is something different that he
does.”
Shyam asked Ram how he managed to cut more trees. Ram answered, “After
every tree I cut, I take a break for 2 minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the
last time you sharpened your axe?”