Preparedness – 3

I thought I’d have rounded up this topic in two posts only but it seems the more I write, the more I have to write. In preparedness 1 and 2, I wrote about Joseph’s sojourn in life through some P-Junctions and how I drew inspiration from his experiences in Padan-aram (the plain) and the pit. From the pit, Joseph was sold into slavery to work for a man named Potiphar. He was the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard.

Potiphar’s house – Management Training

Joseph got into Potiphar’s house as a slave at 17years of age. Not long after he started working there, it became apparent that he had an exceptional ability to manage resources effectively. This was evidenced by his been made the chief slave who controlled all that his master had exclusively. At some point, even Potiphar lost an account of what he truly owned because Joseph was running everything.

I like to say Joseph needed to come to this place to learn low-level management. He only had control over bondmen like himself; men of humble status. He was able to learn their needs, responses, reactions and work ethics. Since he was a slave himself he was able to understand the slavery mentality and to rise above it. He was a leader by position but he learnt to become a leader by influence so much so that when when his master, Potiphar’s wife lied against him to get him arrested, no one in the household (estate) of Potiphar could arrest him until their master himself came.

Joseph learned the rudiments of leadership and management and management in Potiphar’s house. He learnt how the production line ran. He learnt about processes. He learnt how to deal with semi or stark illiterates. He learnt to empathise with the labourers who were at the bottom of the food chain. He ate, slept, played, laughed, cried, and worked with them. They shared stories of well and woe together. They celebrated together and they sorrowed together. He knew their pain and their power. He knew their thought pattern.

Going through times that look like Joseph’s enslavement are times when we should learn the rudiments of leadership and success. It is when we should gather relevant experience necessary to facilitate smooth transition to the fulfillment of our purposes. Potiphar’s house is not necessarily a slave camp. It is a Management Training opportunity.