Dr. Stephen Covey listed “sharpen the saw” as one of his seven habits found among highly effective people. It meant staying current, always learning, self-renewal and continually growing physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.  It is an important principle. My black cat taught me another key principle—”sharpen your claws.”

Our cat lives indoors. She attacks lizards through the screens, growls at squirrels through the glass window, and watches passerby hawks like they were intending to fly into the living room. While being in the wild is only in her mind, she needs to stay ever ready just like her cat family ancestors did on the African Serengeti. “At night, all cats are leopards,” goes an ancient Zuni Indian proverb.

The foundation of her claw sharpen is readiness. We save the fancy furniture in our living room by providing the cat a scratching post for her preparation. It is a circular carpet lined structure complete with large holes (call them caves) for her to explore. There is also a platform on top which gives her a post for her very important guard duty. She has done an excellent job of keeping the elephants out of our yard…at least that is what she wants us to believe.

We were staying at the Hampton Inn in Childress, Texas. Across the back of the property were numerous charging stations for electric cars courtesy of Tesla. BankSouth provides me a small desk calendar and a logoed ink pen they encourage me to “steal.” Over the winter holidays, we stayed in a new Courtyard by Marriott in Beaumont, Texas. Throughout the guest room, there were electric outlets galore for our many electronic devices. The Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe mailed us a beautiful sightseeing guide in advance of our trip out West. It was a great resource for our trip planning.

Your customers need to “sharpen their claws” to stay prepared for their busy daily lives. Think through the lens of what they might need and then provide it before they request it. Look for ways to provide them your version of a scratching post to keep them ready for the elephants!