Judge Not

Yesterday, for the second year, I was part of the judge’s panel for the Region VII FFA sales contest.  This year, the judges were The Mechanic, The Newspaperman, The Auctioneer, The Lady, The Driver’s Ed Instructor, and The Lender.  

What happens at this contest is each team has a product that they need to sell within the parameters of three different scenarios.  Last year, it was gardening fertilizer and mulch products.  This year, it was fishing line.  The teams know this information several weeks in advance of the contest.

The setup for the teams was that they were employees of Cabelas, and their three scenarios were a dad looking to take his kids fishing, the chair of an ice fishing fundraising contest, and a professional fisherman looking for top of the line equipment.  

While the judges observed and took notes to score them, each team had 20 minutes to plan their presentation and then 10 minutes for their presentation and 10 minutes for Q&A from the judges.  

As we watched the first team plan and strategize, some of the things we need to note is if each team member participated in the planning, if all team members were respectful of their teammates, etc.  

On this first team, there was one girl who just wasn’t fulfilling the potential in my mind, so she lost points on that portion for that.  I felt bad because she seemed like a nice enough girl, but I didn’t see her as a salesperson.

The team then moved on to the 10-minute presentation portion of the contest, and this quiet, unassertive young lady blew me out of the water.  She knew her information, she made good eye contact with each of the judges while she was speaking, and she fielded questions like a pro with appropriate answers.  Contestant - 1.  Brogan - 0.  That’ll teach me to make snap judgments!

Team 1 exited the judging room, and Team 2 entered.  Again we watched the planning phase, making notes and observations.  Wow, there was one young lady on this team who was a strong leader in the planning.  She knew how to delegate, she knew how to ask questions, and she listened to her teammates.  Great potential!

Then, during the presentation, she was visibly uncomfortable speaking--when she spoke at all--and wasn’t able to answer questions from the judges or speak knowledgeably about the product and its various uses.  Once again, my first impression was incorrect because it was made on an incomplete picture.

I’ve been guilty of those snap judgments in my day-to-day life as well, and that shames me.  I don’t want to BE judged, so why do I think it’s okay for me to judge someone else simply on the basis of minimal information?  The old, “I’m human” excuse doesn’t cut it.  Really, there is no excuse.  Only God can truly judge someone, so I’d best leave it to Him from now on.  

I will likely never see these two young ladies again in my life, but I’d like to thank them for giving me a reminder to wait and see before deciding on someone’s potential.