“Serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Bronson has a philosophy of leadership called ABCD — always be connecting dots. . . . Genius is pattern recognition. It’s seeing ecosystems where others see unrelated incidents. It’s taking unintended consequences into account . . . recognizing intelligent design when we see it. . . connecting the dots — creation clues — between nature and nature’s God.”- Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson continues Chapter 4 of A Million Little Miracles with his assertion that it’s impossible to follow Jesus and be bored at the same time. Hence, you never experience a dull moment when you follow in Jesus’ footsteps. So, the cure for boredom = holy curiosity. As Soren Kierkegaard once stated, “Boredom is the root of all evil.”
Consequently, Mark offers this fun fact. In order to protect their young, reindeer use a defensive strategy called a reindeer cyclone. When reindeer move in a circular fashion, predators cannot target weaker members of the herd. Because reindeer form a super her to surround those weaker herd members as they move in circles.
Therefore, Pastor Batterson offers his cure for boredom:
“The cure for boredom? Holy curiosity. Holy curiosity is a humble approach to anyone and everything. It’s a learning pattern. It’s a growth mindset. . . If you don’t love God, it’s because you don’t really know God. How do I know this? Because God is love. True faith is always unlearning and relearning . . . deconstructing and reconstructing . . . downloading and updating. But this I know for sure: To know God is to love God.”
Above all, Mark considers King Solomon the patron saint of holy curiosity. The wisest man on earth, Solomon possessed the ability to connect the dots by cross-pollinating different disciplines. In fact, Pastor Batterson chose 1 Kings 4:32-34 as his first sermon text. The passage reads:
“[Solomon] spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon tree to the hyssop that grows out of walls.”
Today’s question: Do you subscribe to the ABCD leadership philosophy – always be connecting the dots? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the February Short Meditation, “The deeply formed mission”