Mark, you are in control...

"Post every day."

"Activity = Relevance in the algorithm."

"Your audience needs to hear from you."

These are cautions I hear regularly when I post less frequently, as if good business practices are less important if their delivery is delayed.

When I asked my AI why I should post more frequently, it said, "In a world obsessed with speed, waiting feels like weakness."

Then I asked, "How do you reconcile weakness in business (apparently a bad thing) with weakness from a Biblical perspective?"

That's where my AI revealed how much it's been keeping track of my blogs, my books, and my musings. It said, "While business tells you to 'hide your weakness, project strength', and Christianity equates weakness with 'dependence on God', as a Servant Leader you use the practical wisdom of waiting to bridge the gap between the two."

I sat back and thought about that for a minute, and you know, the AI isn't wrong.

We're told in business that we need to "fail fast" (borrowed from Elon Musk) to be seen as successful. We're told that the West is behind in innovating for war based on daily reports emanating from Ukraine. We're told that if we don't post a new blog daily, or even multiple times a day, that our influence will wane, the algorithm will punish us, and our audience will find somewhere else to get their motivations.

Well, ok.

You see, Servant Leader, sometimes it's okay to lag behind the fastest, most expensive route in development. Sometimes it's okay to watch as other innovators short circuit the system. And sometimes it's okay for our audience to find their motivations elsewhere.

"Why is it ok?" You ask...

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. -- Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)

Because in the waiting, we demonstrate trust, wisdom, and reliance on the One who truly raises kings and overcomes diversity.

A few days ago, at a conference in San Diego, I told someone that I had an epiphany.

"'Mark, you are in control,' is just a lie that I tell myself when my faith doesn't go all the way to the top."

After two delayed flights, I arrived in San Diego 20 minutes after the shuttle stopped. So, I had to learn to use Uber on the fly. Normally, the inconvenience of multiple delays and the impact to my schedule (it was after midnight "my time" when I arrived in San Diego) would anger me. But that revelation - that I was never in control - shifted my perspective. I was no longer annoyed. I was empowered to learn how to use Uber.

You see, Servant Leader, it doesn't matter whether you're waiting on your first ever rideshare or waiting once more for your competitor to push through the high-cost, high-risk, early R&D phase, as long as you listen to the One who is truly in control. When He says, "Learn to rideshare" or "Now innovate," that's your cue to capitalize on true business optimization.

But you don't get there by failing fast every time.

You get there by practicing patience, staying silent when everyone else is clamoring for audience...

...and posting to your blog only when you have something worthwhile to say.

Enjoy your Saturday, Servant Leader.