Hammer vs. Pick Up Truck

A colleague of mine, Stephen Semple, once shared this illustration with me:

"Which is better: a hammer or a pick up truck? Well, it depends if you want to haul wood or drive nails. You can haul wood with a hammer. You can also drive nails with a pick up. But, why would you?"

If you often feel exhausted, frustrated or under-accomplished, it may be that you are putting your effort into the wrong things...like hauling wood with a hammer. You may still be getting results, but the road getting there is a tough one. The key is to identify your natural strengths so you can strategically target your efforts to get the results you want, while being successful and satisfied in your work.

The irony with a lot of poor performing teams and individuals is that they already have all of the right tools...it's that those tools are misused and energy is put in the wrong places.   

So, how many nails are you trying to drive with a pick up truck?