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It had snowed while I was on a training trip a couple of weeks ago, leaving three inches in my driveway. No big deal.
I got home late on a Friday and the next day it was going to snow some more so I thought I'd wait until Saturday night or Sunday morning...get it all at once don't you know?
The snow tapered around six o'clock on Saturday evening. I was going out later, but thought I could make a quick run with my snow blower, have my walks neatened up and not have to worry about them Sunday morning.
It was cold, of course, and I bundled up in all my stuff and ventured forth. I plodded my way to the garage and slung open the door...and there she was...my magnificent snow throwing machine.
Well...
Apparently there had been at least one day of thaw while I was gone because water had seeped under my garage door, pooled on the floor and froze. I had a hockey rink in my garage.
But it gets worse.
It froze my snow blower to the floor. Yep, couldn't budge it. I mean I yanked and I pulled...from every angle. Nary a movement.
My first instinct was to chip the ice away, but the blades of the snow blower were positioned such that I couldn't get a tool to the ice that needed chipping the most.
I thought some more.
I decided that on my way out that night I would pick up a space heater. When I came home I set it up in my garage and ran it all night, thinking that it would melt the ice and in the morning I'd be good to go.
Wrong. It was so cold and the space heater so small that it did not make a dent. Not a dribble of melt.
Next thought...it was still quite cold on Sunday, but I spied the sun peeking around the morning clouds. It had direct access to my driveway...and my garage.
Aha!
I left the garage door open so the sun could work its magic on the ice around my machine and went in to watch some TV.
A few hours later it had had the desired effect...the sun warmed the ice just enough to loosen the snow blower and I was able to clean my walks.
My neighbors thank me.
I was pleased with my creative thinking, my trial and error, my willingness to try a number of things. And finally eighteen hours after my first attempt I was able to use my snow blower.
However...
I had dinner with my good friend, Randy, a few days later. As I began to tell him the story and was about to launch into my different attempts to unstick my snow blower he leapt in and said, "So you poured boiling water on the ice right?"
And I hung my head. "That did not even cross my mind!" I exclaimed as I looked up, bewildered by my stupidity.
So here's my point: Alone I solved the problem, but I solved it in eighteen hours. Had I collaborated-maybe with Randy or any one of you that might have been screaming this solution at my newsletter halfway through-I might have solved it in eighteen minutes.
Collaboration is not only inclusive and empowering to your team, it typically makes us far more efficient than when we go it alone.
Two heads are indeed better than one...especially, I think sometimes, when mine is the one head.
By the way, if you wondered if I have a snow shovel, the answer is, yes I do.
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