That Doesn't Just HappenSample

Details are important. Ask anyone who has been audited by the Internal Revenue Service! Ask anyone who has been to traffic court because they forgot about those pesky parking tickets. Ask any roommate in charge of the food bills and the receipts, and they will tell you: Without providing the details to others, they don’t get paid back. By the time the Queen of Sheba arrived in Jerusalem, Solomon and his staff had mastered the details—not only the details of a magnificent scope of exterior building design, and interior quality and excellence, but also of attention to details in the way their team operated. You can bet Solomon and his supervisors worked on coaching the workers about such things as the expression on their faces (“You should all look happy to be here. There are thousands of Hebrews who would love to have your position!”).

Remember, in those days kings—not just Solomon, but kings all over the world—were all-powerful figures, due homage and respect. Imagine if any one of them rolled their eyes or sighed loudly out of frustration over a request and what kind of dressing-down they’d get later. It wouldn’t be pretty. But the point here isn’t that kings and those in authority had the ability to lop off one’s head. It was the coaching and standards they set for those in their employ that made such a difference in the excellence their employees exhibited.

Those fortunate to be working at the palace would have been coached on their posture (“Stand up straight and pull your shoulders back!”), when they should make eye contact with guests, or when they should gaze into the distance, as if they hadn’t seen anything or heard comments they were not supposed to repeat. Additionally, their ability to solve problems with wisdom (I’m sure the wisdom thing rubbed off on Solomon’s people) and speed in arriving at creative solutions was something that must have been drilled into them. Such attention to details shows you actually care about what you do, who you are serving (the customer), and who you do it with.