‘STICKY FINGERS’

Intuition can be applied in a myriad of ways, as the following experience from my early years working in the corporate world reveals.

I interviewed the son of my direct boss’s best friend, who also happened to be the President of our company. This connection made the interview particularly memorable. From the time I met this young man and shook his hand, I kept hearing the words “sticky fingers’ in the back of my mind. Although he appeared perfectly trustworthy—clean-cut, well dressed, and presentable—I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something was off. Every time I looked at him, the words “sticky fingers” echoed louder in my mind.

(Most would ignore such an odd wee thought randomly popping to mind, but it was those types of impressions that I always recognized and addressed in relation to the question or situation at hand.)

After the interview, I still heard those two little words and felt very uncomfortable about hiring him, yet on paper and in person he looked like an ideal candidate – and he was the President’s best friends’ son. The young man’s references checked out, although with every single work reference there were brief pauses and hesitations to my questions about him. All stated they had a ’no rehire’ policy, which I also found interesting.

I shared my trust concerns with the President, who furiously demanded I hire the young man regardless. To err on the side of caution, I asked that he be placed in an area where he could do the least damage. He was placed in, of all places, the Distribution Centre!

When I re-addressed my ‘sticky fingers’ impression and asked myself what sticky fingers meant to me, my immediate thought (as I’m sure it would be yours too) was ‘things stick to sticky fingers’, hence ‘theft’.

I so vehemently opposed his hire that I drafted a document to this effect and had the President sign it. Six months later the inventory was short by thousands of dollars and product.

Thorough investigating revealed that this young man was stealing the company blind. Charges were never laid, and he was quietly dismissed. After all, he was the President’s best friend’s son.

When my employer angrily challenged me, I produced the paperwork he signed authorizing this particular hire. We never spoke of it again.

Think of times you’ve had what you felt was an odd thought or feeling and dismissed it. Intuition comes to us inherently when and as it is beneficial to us; in positive and negative circumstances. Start to pay attention to it, and rather than dismissing it, simply ask yourself what it means to you in relation to the person or situation at hand – as I did with ‘sticky fingers’.

Warmest,

Deborah Johnson

email: deborah@deborahjohnson.ca

Clairvoyant, Medium, Author, Speaker