There's a biblical proverb that says, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." 

It is Proverbs 27:17, to be exact, and it has really stuck with me lately.  There was a time when I had lots of "sharpness" around me.  As a young entrepreneur, lots of other young entrepreneurs seemed to gravitate to each other. 

And we made each other better.  Not always by challenging each other or pushing each other like personal trainers in the business world, but just by pursuing our dreams and being our best and loving what we were doing.  I think that was one of the really important yet lesser known factors in my early success.

[A big thanks to Rob and Jason and Christy and Bobby and Anton in particular.]

Then, for no real reason other than perhaps the demands of growing families or people moving around, there was a time when I didn't feel much sharpness in my business or friendship circles.  I didn't even realize it until I got in one of those rare introspective states.  Maybe it was when I turned the ripe old milestone age of 30... 

I had become surrounded by people who preferred coasting over driving.  People who didn't really expect much, people who weren't really trying to accomplish anything meaningful.  There are a lot of nice people out there who aren't going to make you better.

We need iron.  We need it badly.  It is so vital that we find ways to keep getting better, and one understated way to ensure you stay sharp is to be in contact with others who are sharp.  The rest of the world needs us to be our best.  Who is your iron?  Who can you be iron to?

[My wife is an iron lady -- she makes me better.  I've been blessed with iron vendors and iron clients too.  So this is where I thank Michael, Mike, and Mike.  Rich and Leasa and Scott and James and Julie and Magi and Ben and Frankie and Vernon and Jeff and another Mike.  I know a lot of Mikes... but more than that, I know a lot of iron people and I'm better for it.]

Labels: bad habits, creativity, differentiation, employees, management, marketing, planning, strategy