Brass Tack Thinking - Giving ChancesMy mom works for a company in the manufacturing industry. They’ve got several factories, and a big warehouse on location that employs many people to handle freight, logistics, delivery….all that stuff. As part of her role, my mom helps interview and screen candidates for warehouse staff.

A few weeks ago, a gentleman came in and applied for a job. He was affable, friendly, intelligent and enthusiastic. As part of the interview process, he clearly and openly disclosed that he had a felony conviction on his criminal record for a white collar crime, and indicated that she’d find that when she did her background check.

She found that. She also found more.

That background check came back with some surprising information, including convictions for other crimes.

Folks in the Human Resources department – justifiably – were concerned about those items, as well as the man’s apparent intent to cover those up by not disclosing them in advance. They were concerned about the seeming dishonesty as well as whether he could be trusted as a member of the team. Mom was disappointed and a bit confused, as the man had seemed quite earnest and genuine in their conversations. Something wasn’t adding up.

Instead of taking all of that information face value and presuming the man’s intentions, she called him up and asked him directly about what she found. He was saddened and frustrated, and asserted that not only were those charges on his record inaccurate, but that he had proof that they didn’t belong on his record. He wasn’t belligerent. He wasn’t ashamed. He simply stood up for himself, and asked for a chance to prove what he knew.

Mom started digging. Something about him was convincing, sincere, passionate. She made some phone calls, and hoofed it down to the courthouse to get her hands on some records. She stayed in touch with the man to figure out what she should be looking for. And indeed, she found documentation and proof that the elements contained on the background report were inaccurate and incorrect.

Then, she walked into the HR department and convinced those folks to give the man a chance, and a job. Now, he’s a 28 year old employed man with a family and a start to a new career.

I told you this story for a few reasons.

One, surfaces can be deceiving. What seems so on the outside may not be true, even if our eyes and ears tell us so. It can be so valuable and rewarding not to take things at face value.

Two, instincts count for a lot. Sometimes we as people have more finely tuned impressions of others than we think, and it can pay to follow our heart and our gut to see where it leads.

Three, sometimes it can be worthwhile to go above and beyond, and to give someone a chance. For all of the importance we place on risk mitigation, I love that sometimes a story shines a light on the beauty of taking a flyer and having it pay off. Sometimes those chances are big, and the results spectacular. Sometimes it’s much more quiet, like having the faith that one man’s livelihood and future might be worth a bit of extra effort, and finding him a bit of hope in the process.

This week, as Thanksgiving approaches and the holiday season starts, find your compassion. Look for those sparks around you that uncover the good, that discover the potential, that realize the humanity and the vulnerability in everyone.

There are never too many to find.

Update: Ed Shahzade suggested that this post is series-worthy, so let’s do this. If you’ve got a story to share about how someone gave *you* a chance or how you took a chance on someone else and what you learned, I’d love to publish it here. If you’re interested, drop me an email and we can talk about how to make that happen.