Lessons from a Bad Haircut

I got a bad haircut this weekend. It was partially my fault. I went to the barber shop with a hat on my head I'd been wearing all morning since I had not taken a shower before taking Claire for her ACT sitting. It was a spur of the moment thing. I got the first available barber so I could get in and out quickly. 

The barber seem to be struggling a bit. It took him two or three tries to get it more or less right. The hat head made it a little hard to tell. I thanked him and went on my way.

When I got home and took a shower to get ready to go to a neighborhood cookout on Saturday night, I realized how bad things were. It was sort of a of normal look and one side and Billy Bob Thorton Sling Blade on the other side. Jenny noticed it right away.

So Sunday after church I went back to the barbershop. I told the lady at the front desk I had been there yesterday and made a brief gesture to the left side of my head. She said, and I’m not making this up, “say no more, we'll fix it“. She stepped back to one of the other barbers and explained what was going on. She got me into the back very quickly and another one of the barbers fixed me right up. If you see me at work later today you can let me know if it turned out ok.

As I was leaving, the receptionist apologized and said the barber was new. I figured that was the case since I saw him observing other barbers when I walked back in on Sunday. I told the receptionist that I was a regular customer and that I would continue to be a regular customer. That it was no big deal that it was only hair. 

They got me thinking about apprentices. We have all at some point or another either been an apprentice. And many of us have or will become a "master craftsman" in our trade, or we might be a leader who is responsible for both. On any given day, I might be all three at different points. 

Or you might be a customer with a bad haircut.  

Going back to the middle ages, apprentices would sign on with "master craftsmen" for anywhere from two to seven years to learn to "master" a trade. The craftsman received low cost labor in exchange for room, board, and formal training in a craft. The system still formally exists in many countries today, including Austria, France, Germany and India. 

When mistakes (or happy little accidents) happen, it's an opportunity to show some good humor, grace, and humility. We've all been there. Hopefully the stakes are low, like hair, but sometimes they won't be. 

Whatever your role and the circumstances, apprentices need a chance to do, screw up, repeat, and get better. They need coaching from their "master craftsman" and some personal humility, recognizing they still have to learn. 

Stuff happens, it's only hair, and it will grow back.