John Stanko

"Now the men had said to her, 'This oath you made us swear
will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you
have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let
us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother,
your brothers and all your family into your house  If any of them
go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their
own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in
the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a
hand is laid on them.'" - Joshua 2:17-19.

In this passage, the spies gave Rahab instructions of what she was to do when they returned to take the land so she and her family would be protected. As simple as these instructions were, it represented a clear strategy for the protection and survival of this family. Whatever goals or plans organizations have, leaders must help devise and communicate clear strategies that everyone understands, has bought into and has the capability of implementing. It all starts with a clear vision of the direction or end result that the strategy will hopefully accomplish.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Your Step today is to take a look at the strategies you have for your personal and organizational goals. Are they clear and concise? If they are not clear to you, then they will not be clear to anyone else and the chances of achieving your goals are minimized. You may want to look at those strategies one-by-one, and tweak, adjust or abandon them depending on their usefulness. In any case, the old adage applies: 'Change the strategy, keep the goal.'