I’m back from an incredible vacation at the beach with my family. As you would expect, there were a lot of other people at the beach who came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. One afternoon there was a guy who really got my attention because of how muscular his arms, neck and chest were. I saw him playing in the water with a child that I assume was his son. They were in shallow water obviously sitting down as I could only see them from the waste up.

When I say this guy was “ripped” I am guilty of a severe understatement. He was huge. Anyway, once I noticed him (and became jealous for a moment and then ascribed his physique to being on the “juice”) I then moved on out into the waves to the side of one of my kids. After a little while in the ocean I started to make my way back to the beach and I noticed this same guy coming up out of the water… with the aid of metal crutches… revealing severely deformed and unusable legs. Whoa! It took my breath away for a moment.

I had really misjudged this guy and the now obvious reason for his muscular upper body. I went through what I assume are “normal” reactions from an experience like this. I was shocked at first and then a bit sad both for him and at my own attitude toward him before knowing all the information.

I made a mistake in this situation that I’m afraid I make way too often. I am guilty, at times, of making final judgements about a person based only on partial information. I am also sometimes guilty of making the same mistake when it comes to leadership decisions. I can be too quick to act on what ends up being only partial information which leads to having to make another decision instead of having initially making a wise one.

Making final judgements based only on partial information is not wise. It can cost a number of things including time, energy and embarrassment. It could also potentially undercut my influence as a leader… which is arguably my most valuable asset in leadership.

Proverbs 18:15

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

What I hope to gain from this experience is a TiVo like playback of that guy coming up out of the water anytime I’m about to make a final decision or cast an opinion (in my mind or out loud). So that in that moment I’m reminded to ask myself if I have all the information needed to make a wise decision. Then… here’s the hard part for me… be patient enough and diligent enough to seek out whatever or whoever is necessary so a wise decision can be made and another (potentially costly) decision can be avoided.