John Stanko

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar
or not?" - Mark 12:13-14.

The leaders of Israel had a strategy to discredit Jesus by trapping Him in words that would inflame the Romans, causing them to arrest Jesus, thus ridding the Pharisees of their nemesis. They flattered Him but then they publicly posed the tough question. The strategy backfired, however, actually increasing Jesus' stature with the people when He gave His famous "give to Caesar" response. This strategy failed because the leaders arrogantly thought they could outsmart Jesus, their competition. Leaders must help come up with strategies that will enable their organizations to achieve their desired and necessary changes and business goals. These strategies should not be an attempt to outsmart competitors, but to achieve what is most important to the organization as defined by its values and business objectives.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Is your business strategy to outwit others, beating them at their own game, or is it to provide the most beneficial goods and services and market them so people will know they exist? Your Step today is to assess the complexity of your business strategy and look for ways to make it  simpler and easy to understand. Eliminate any aspects of the strategy that are based on you winning and others losing, and instead focus on what your company does best.