I'm a Bonehead... I was wearing the Ruby Slippers the Entire Time

When I was a store manger in Louisville, Kentucky I had a district manager that was very good at teaching life lessons. The most memorable for me was his "ruby slippers" analogy.

In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy allowed herself to be put through a lot of extra hardship in order to reach her goal of getting back to Kansas. What she didn't realize was that she was carrying the solution to her problems along with her the entire time. The pair of ruby slippers that she was wearing throughout her ordeals was the solution to her problem. All she needed to do was click her heels together and say, "There's no place like home," three times.

Several times during discussions of different opportunities within the store my DM would point out that I had the solution to the store's problems inside of me the entire time--I had the answers, I just needed to apply them. He would then tell me to look down, click my heels together three times, and my problems would be solved; an obvious reference to Dorothy's plight in The Wizard of Oz.

This is a lesson that I have had to re-learn over and over. I know that I am prone to procrastination. Procrastinators are also called "sluggards" in the Bible. Sluggards know what needs to be done, but put it off for correction some time in the future. The book of Proverbs is full of scriptures referencing "the sluggard." Proverbs 24:30-34 is a passage that is particularly poignant to me:

"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man that lacks judgement; thorns had grown up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my own heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

Other verses pertinent to this discussion are "A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing."(Prov 20:4) and "One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." (Prov 18:9).

When I look at these verses I am struck by the fact that in each case the sluggard knows what needs to be done (the answer is inside of him), but puts off doing it. He'd rather rest, or do something else that is more appealing to him. I see myself in this!

Today I had to learn this lesson once again. We receive grades every 45 days for the level of customer service we provide in our stores. The grade is the result of a "Mystery Shop" that is performed by an anonymous shopper hired to test our ability to provide help in one of three pre-determined scenarios. It's an "open book test". We just don't know exactly when it's going to occur.

This past month I received a mediocre score. I lost points because the customer wasn't quickly offered assistance, and one of our store procedures wasn't properly explained to her. The secret shop took place near the end of the night, when my associates and managers are focused on getting the store straight and getting the day's freight put away. To add insult to injury, one of my associates was wearing a name tag with a goofy nick-name on it, instead of her real name (I didn't lose points for this, just credibility with my DM). I wasn't surprised at the lost points because I know what our focus is at the end of the night. However, as the leader in the store it's my duty to point out that regardless of other tasks that may require completion, our customer is our number one priority. I had also seen the goofy name tag sitting on the table in the break room. I should have discarded it and addressed it with the associate in question to ensure the proper level of professionalism within the store. Instead, I left it sitting on the table. The ruby slippers were within my possession... I failed to click them together. My procrastination, my putting off until tomorrow things that I knew needed to be fixed today, resulted in a sub-standard score on my secret shop.

I believe that each of the actions I take (or fail to take) add to (or subtract from) my witness for the power of God in my life. I feel as though each failure to follow through to the best of my ability is a slip in my witness. I prefer not to fail, but have not yet achieved perfection. My prayer is that God helps me to overcome my natural propensity for procrastination. God help me to live a life that gives glory to you, help me to be an example of what the power of God can do in my workplace. Help me to be a man of action. Above all, I want to hear you say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."