Conversation Sharpens the Saw It is not a waste of time

Conversation is how we learn, make sense of situations, and discover better ways of working. Yet when time is short, conversation is often treated as something we cannot afford. Making time for the right conversations can prevent mistakes, improve decisions, strengthen relationships, and ultimately save far more time.

We learn, make sense of the world, glean insights, spot new opportunities, and avoid pitfalls through conversation.

The time invested in a conversation almost always pays off and saves time in the long term.

There is never enough time to do everything we would like to do in a day.

The real issue is that we do not see conversation as being important and do not prioritize it.

If you need to cut down a tree, taking the time to “sharpen the saw” is not wasted. It is an investment.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.

Credit: Abraham Lincoln

How much time is wasted in organizations every day because people repeat mistakes, do work that is not needed, do things the hard way when there are easier ways, and miss opportunities to do transformational things?

Time can be saved by:

• Surfacing unknown problems and issues by using  Knowledge Cafés and breaking down siloed working.
• Running peer assists to learn from others before starting a project. These need not be formal – just conversing with a project leader who has run a similar project over coffee will pay dividends.
• Talking to someone face-to-face rather than emailing them may seem inefficient. Email, however, can cause problems when communication is misinterpreted or misunderstood, and we can irreparably damage trust and relationships.
• Perform frequent, short, sharp after-action reviews to learn from what has just taken place and avoid similar future mistakes.

These benefits of conversation can save significant time in the long term and often prevent the failure of projects or other endeavors.

Also, much conversational work does not require extra time; it just requires taking a different approach. The following need little or no extra time:

• Making a meeting or a presentation more conversational.
• Taking a conversational approach to management training rather than a traditional, lecture-based one.
• Running a 5-minute after-action review after a one-hour meeting.
• Talking to someone face-to-face or on the phone rather than emailing them.
• Speaking up in a meeting.
• Listening with the intent to improve thinking rather than the “intent to reply.”
• Eating lunch with people rather than taking a sandwich to your desk.

Leveraging conversation at its best is about designing and convening conversations around critical business issues or developing strategy.

The payoff of involving everyone and the engagement, accountability, and commitment can be enormous.

As Stephen Covey would say, we need to sharpen the saw.

We can start by noticing where a conversation might save time rather than consume it. Before we rush into action, send another email, or repeat an old approach, we can stop and talk. A few minutes spent listening, questioning, and thinking together may prevent hours of unnecessary work later.