"Wait" by Frank Partnoy

Sorry for all the short book reviews, but sitting in a hospital room for 14 hours a day gives lots of time for reading. Last week, Ang and I stopped by Chapters and I am dangerous in there… I could walkout with thirty books in less than five minutes. The danger in my excitement is that I sometimes pick-up books that are a waste of time. This book was one of them.

The book is called, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, by Frank Partnoy. Its attractive cover and glitzy byline sold me. The nature of the book falls into the same category as Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin books… quirky observations of human behavior and cultural/corporate success.

The basic premise of the book is set out to combat the time-oriented cultural value of our tireless pursuit of efficiency. Our culture looks down on procrastination, but Partnoy argues that in certain contexts procrastination is a great thing. He uses elite athletes, fighter pilot techniques, and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War approach to defend his observation. His premise is that more successful decisions are reached when one delays a decision to the last possible moment. This delay allows one to observe, adjust, and then act/decide. Successful people are able to determine how long acting on the decision will take and then subtract that time from the deadline, allowing them the beginning/remaining time to observe and adjust. This process of delaying a decision can be done in milliseconds or years (depending on the context/deadline).

In another part he discusses the importance of latency or slack in complex systems. From a Biblical perspective this sounds like “Sabbath”. He then responds to Gladwell’s observation of “thin slicing” and noting the danger of basing our perspective of others solely on first impressions. When it comes to public speaking he addresses the use of delay in powerful speeches and comedy. He also reflects other nuances of waiting as it relates to stock investments, relational success, and other areas of application.

Overall the book is a waste of time and could have been a tenth of the length. The majority of the book is an overuse of storytelling and social experiments… fluff. Even the physical size of the book is awkward as it’s a touch too big.

I find it funny how so many of these kinds of books back up God’s truth and wisdom as revealed in Scripture, but because the world doesn’t see the Bible as Truth, it finds the need to spend millions of dollars and hours on social research only to discover what God has already told us.

"since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans 1:19-21 (NIV)

A Clear Road in a Blizzard

Angela and I have been praying since beginning of her diagnosis for wisdom in navigating treatment options.  Between traditional medicine, natural remedies, medical centers in other countries, weirdos (those who became an expert in their basement), and conspiracy theorists on the Internet, there are many choices.  Then, of course, there is the choice to do nothing.

We've received lots of suggestions, links, and articles from strangers, friends, and family.  On top of that we've been researching on our own.  There is so much to wade through that one could spend 40 hours a day (I know there aren't that many hours in a day), every day for a year, and still not read through all the information that is available... isn't the Internet a beautiful thing!?

Needless to say, the amount of information and options has been overwhelming.  It feels like being in the middle of a blizzard. There's a temptation to give in to the weight and simply quit, but there is also a persistent desire to push through and seek God's wisdom.

That brings us to Wednesday and to explain Wednesday I need to explain Tuesday night.  On Tuesday night, Angela and I were experiencing one of those moments where we were feeling the weight of information overload.  Some of the information was good, while much was either conflicting, incorrect, or upon reading the entire article we discovered that it only applied to very specific and unrelated situations.

On Wednesday, Angela spent much of the day reflecting on the wisdom part of James 1 and seeking God's direction.  That night, when Angela was tucking Ruby in, they began their devotions in her kid's bible (which I love because of the pictures).  The story was David and Goliath, and as Angela and Ruby talked about the story together, a moment of wisdom/clarity was given to Angela.  Later that night, Angela told me about it and it 'clicked' for me too.

The wisdom and application from the story came from the exchange between David and King Saul over whether or not to wear the King's armor.  In the end, David didn't feel comfortable wearing the armor and chose to use the weapon and the way God had given him to succeed in the past (his sling and a few rocks).  God spoke to Angela through this in a very simple way... Angela's approach to facing this giant in her life needs to be done in a way that is personal and familiar to her.  Other methods/weapons may work for or fit some, but if they do not fit her then she isn't to use them.  Her decisions moving forward need to be in the rhythm and familiarity of her personal walk with God.

We both believe this to be God's will for our lives in responding to the multitude of choices.  Others may shake their head in dismay if we make a choice that is different from the one they would make (similarly to how King Saul must have shaken his head about David's decision to go into battle with just a sling), but we believe that this is God's will for our lives.

Until this point, when we've faced options that made us feel uncomfortable, there has been a nagging doubt and/or an irrational hope.  The nagging doubt has come from us second guessing our wisdom... wondering if we're being stubborn, closed-minded, or weak in faith.  The irrational hope has come from that place in your heart experienced when you're about to scratch a lotto ticket and you have that feeling like it's going to be a winner... it's that desire to believe in something so much that you ignore wisdom and/or facts.  It's the stuff that manifests in gold rushes, snake-oil purchases, and housing bubbles.

Every medical choice up until this point has felt like being in a blizzard, but this moment of clarity, provided in God's wisdom, it feels like turning on to a road that is well salted, sanded, and marked. 


I hope that came out the way God revealed it in our hearts.