Let me tell you a true story about an encounter with a new client from earlier this summer.

Based near Jerusalem, this young and petite lady is trying to kick start her business with a many trepidations and minimal commercial experience. We began to go through her immediate tasks, and one included preparing for a final exam. For her first degree, I asked? Yes, and………..

…….and also for her black belt in judo. I could not contain my surprise. Based on height and character, I had severely misjudged her. And what was I, business coach and mentor, doing jumping to conclusions so early on in the proceedings? Inwardly, I felt embarrassed.

I was reminded on the incident, while I was listening to SKY TV a couple of weeks ago. They were interviewing somebody who had spent much of the previous 12 months, trying out over 30 Olympic sports. “Wow, he must be fit,” I thought to myself.

I turned to watch the screen and found myself staring at a man in his mid 30s, lacking at least 2 limbs. And then it clicked that this was a discussion on the Para Olympics. The studio guest then let loose his parting shot:

“Don’t look at the disability. Look at the ability”.

This command applies to both the ‘normal’ person, as well as someone who may be physically impaired – all of us.

And that is the point. How often do we go into a meeting or conference room, take one look at somebody new and say to ourselves: ‘That person is a XYZ character’? Height, code dress, age, body language have ‘forced us’ to make an assessment on the spot. We may be partially right, but we frequently miss out key details.

Around 2,000 years ago, a rabbi by the name of Ben Azzai warned us not to despise people nor dismiss anything. “For there is not a man who has not his hour.” I wonder what he would have made of my female judo client.