I remember taking a job at People’s Bank in Minden in the summer after my high school graduation. While I worked in several departments during those first few weeks, I would ultimately be trained as a teller working in the main office.
I can still vividly recall one Friday morning. It was near the end of my first full month and was payday for many people. Now, back in the 1980s, ATMs were just becoming popular, and direct deposits were just being introduced in many workplaces. So “everyone” went to the bank!
This Friday, I was waiting on customers when one of the bank’s executives came over and told me that he needed me to close my window and follow him to the motor bank. The motor bank was a satellite drive through operation across the street. One of the two tellers working in the motor bank became ill and had to go home.
As we walked over to the motor bank, I saw cars lined up waiting for several blocks. One teller was trying to service two lines.
As I got set up, the executive provided me with a cash drawer with more money than I had ever been entrusted inside the bank. I quickly verified the count and was ready to work. He told me that he would be back in a few hours to replenish it. It was obviously going to be a busy day.
As he turned to leave, the other teller walked over to me and gave me a great piece of advice that I have never forgotten. She was a long-term employee that had been there for over thirty years.
She told me, “Just wait on the one in front of you. Don’t worry about the next one in line. Once you put that canister in the shoot, that money isn’t coming back.”
I took her advice and just kept waiting on the customer in front of me. I remember refusing to cash some checks that day and advised them to go inside for approval. Adhering to the training, following the process, and making good decisions (while working efficiently) was the focus.
We never stopped to eat lunch or take a break. We just kept waiting on customers well past closing time. As the last car drove off, we shut things down, balanced our windows, and called it a day.
I would spend many more days working drive through windows all the way through my days in college, and I never forgot that advice – “Just wait on the one in front of you”.
We could all benefit from that advice!
How many times do we get ahead of ourselves and miss opportunities because we are focused on something in the future? How many relationships do we neglect because we are fixated on some issue that might happen? How many conversations do we limit because our minds are wandering, and we aren’t really listening?
How many of us spend hours thinking, worrying, and anxiously waiting for something that might happen?
We miss the person, the opportunity, or the need right in front of us.
Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
What aspect of your life do you need to “Just wait on the one in front of you”?
Doug equips leaders to make organizations better. He has two Christian-based leadership books available on all online platforms. Whether you are looking for a speaker for your next event or a leadership coach to develop people and build an authentic team, contact Doug at doug.strickel@gmail.com and learn more about PLUS.
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