Unadulterated Strategy — Putting Everything Toward One Thing
Unadulterated Strategy — Putting Everything Toward One Thing
Unadulterated Strategy — Putting Everything Toward One Thing
Unadulterated Strategy — Putting Everything Toward One Thing
"Unadulterated" means not mixed with any extraneous elements. To stay on mission requires focus. Pure strategy puts everything toward one thing. A highly competent strategic leader is able to cleverly design plans — aligning everything in all types of situations — without distraction — to accomplish the organization’s chief objective.
"Unadulterated" means not mixed with any extraneous elements. To stay on mission requires focus. Pure strategy puts everything toward one thing.
A highly competent strategic leader is able to cleverly design plans — aligning everything in all types of situations — without distraction — to accomplish the organization’s chief objective.
Google’s AI chatbot says it this way:
"Everything toward one thing" in strategic planning means that all actions, decisions, and initiatives within an organization are deliberately focused on achieving a single, overarching goal or vision, with every element of the plan working cohesively to reach that desired outcome, avoiding unnecessary distractions or conflicting priorities; essentially, aligning all efforts towards a unified strategic direction.
Almost everyone uses strategy to use what they have to get what they want. Yet, it takes priority alignment to ensure our temporary strategies move us toward our highest end — the purpose for which we are made.
The Ultimate Strategist
Jesus is the world's greatest strategist that has ever lived. He put everything toward one thing.
Jesus taught and modeled an unadulterated, life-giving strategy. It was life-giving because it was life-swapping — His life for our life — temporary for eternal.
He gave everything so we could gain everything!
One of Jesus’ most strategic communication methods was to teach in parables. He gave one parable to teach us (1) about good and bad strategy and (2) to simultaneously clear up why not to mix the things of this world with the things of God:
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
“The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg — I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
“So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
“'Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.
“The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.'
“Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
“'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. “He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
- [.no-reftag]Luke 16:1-9[.no-reftag]
Time to Change
Strategy most often gets started when there is a clear need to make a change. The manager sees clearly that he has come to the end of his current influential job when he says, “What shall I do now?” [.no-reftag](Luke 16:3)[.no-reftag] Now is the key word. Something has to change quickly, so he quickly develops a plan.
Many organizations go through rigid strategic planning processes, but often the most impactful, timely strategies are created out of the necessity to make a change now.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Consider what needs to change most and the impact of timing on this change. What is the cost of doing nothing in the near term? What is the opportunity to best impact the future long-term?
Priority Inputs
Strategy is informed by the highest priorities of the organization or individual. In reactive scenarios like this one, those priorities easily bubble up to the top. The manager says, “I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses” ([.no-reftag]Luke 16:4[.no-reftag]).
The shrewd manager properly prioritizes his own personal relationships over wealth (even though it’s another man's wealth). He clearly no longer prioritizes the relationship with his boss.
Strategic plans are most impactful when an organization or individual has clear priorities and values.
Great organizations thrive on purpose and have a collective vision for where they want to go and who they want to serve. They have a mission to help others flourish and to meet the needs of the world.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] - Consider your highest priorities (organizationally and personally) as you make plans. Write down your top priorities and write the impacts or possible outcomes for each priority.
Gifts / Resource Allocation
Great leaders take inventory of the talents and resources available to them in order to create the most clever plans. The manager took a quick inventory of his abilities and resources in devising his clever scheme:
“The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg — I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
“So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:3-5[.no-reftag]
His quick talent assessment concluded that his talents did not include manual labor! However, he felt convinced in his intellectual ability to manipulate and to use his relationships as the key resource for his future needs.
Many organizations do “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis” (or S.W.O.T) to design strategic plans.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Consider your organization’s greatest gifts and resources – or your own individual gifting. Have you fully considered how to leverage all that you have to meet the largest opportunity at hand? Can your strengths be an offset for your greatest weakness, or can they be used to mitigate a threat that poses a serious risk?
The End Goal Matters Most
Jesus recognized the shrewdness of the manager and the cleverness of people all over the world: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:8[.no-reftag]
Yet, this is much more a rebuke than it is a compliment, because next we see Jesus reveal His strategy for telling the parable.
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:9[.no-reftag]
Jesus is making the key point that it is good and clever to use your gifts and resources to gain friends, but He is pointing out that you should consider how long you want the relationship to last — temporarily or eternally?
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:10-12[.no-reftag]
Even more, you should consider the owner of all things, the source of power to do all things, and the purpose of all things (Romans 11:36).
Jesus is saying that unadulterated strategy puts everything toward one thing. He is saying that even in the temporary, seemingly inconsequential moments, consider the eternally consequential impacts.
Jesus emphasizes that the temporary should serve the permanent and concludes by warning us against our largest temporary distraction:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:13[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Use this form to consider the change needed and the impact of the possible eternal outcomes on each of your priorities. Then consider all of your gifts and resources to design a clever plan with the highest impact —giving all glory to God — for the most number of people.
Resources:
Video: "Strategy Part 3 | Put Everything Toward One Thing"
Worksheet: Strategy Planning Form
Article: "Strategy is Clever, Clever Planning on Purpose"
Article: "Something's Gotta Change"
Video: "Strategy Part 1 | What do you have?"
Video: "Strategy Part 2 | Change Just in Time"
Sermon: "The Parable of the Shrewd Manager", Redeemer Downtown | Will Anderson
"Unadulterated" means not mixed with any extraneous elements. To stay on mission requires focus. Pure strategy puts everything toward one thing.
A highly competent strategic leader is able to cleverly design plans — aligning everything in all types of situations — without distraction — to accomplish the organization’s chief objective.
Google’s AI chatbot says it this way:
"Everything toward one thing" in strategic planning means that all actions, decisions, and initiatives within an organization are deliberately focused on achieving a single, overarching goal or vision, with every element of the plan working cohesively to reach that desired outcome, avoiding unnecessary distractions or conflicting priorities; essentially, aligning all efforts towards a unified strategic direction.
Almost everyone uses strategy to use what they have to get what they want. Yet, it takes priority alignment to ensure our temporary strategies move us toward our highest end — the purpose for which we are made.
The Ultimate Strategist
Jesus is the world's greatest strategist that has ever lived. He put everything toward one thing.
Jesus taught and modeled an unadulterated, life-giving strategy. It was life-giving because it was life-swapping — His life for our life — temporary for eternal.
He gave everything so we could gain everything!
One of Jesus’ most strategic communication methods was to teach in parables. He gave one parable to teach us (1) about good and bad strategy and (2) to simultaneously clear up why not to mix the things of this world with the things of God:
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
“The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg — I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
“So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
“'Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.
“The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.'
“Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
“'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. “He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
- [.no-reftag]Luke 16:1-9[.no-reftag]
Time to Change
Strategy most often gets started when there is a clear need to make a change. The manager sees clearly that he has come to the end of his current influential job when he says, “What shall I do now?” [.no-reftag](Luke 16:3)[.no-reftag] Now is the key word. Something has to change quickly, so he quickly develops a plan.
Many organizations go through rigid strategic planning processes, but often the most impactful, timely strategies are created out of the necessity to make a change now.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Consider what needs to change most and the impact of timing on this change. What is the cost of doing nothing in the near term? What is the opportunity to best impact the future long-term?
Priority Inputs
Strategy is informed by the highest priorities of the organization or individual. In reactive scenarios like this one, those priorities easily bubble up to the top. The manager says, “I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses” ([.no-reftag]Luke 16:4[.no-reftag]).
The shrewd manager properly prioritizes his own personal relationships over wealth (even though it’s another man's wealth). He clearly no longer prioritizes the relationship with his boss.
Strategic plans are most impactful when an organization or individual has clear priorities and values.
Great organizations thrive on purpose and have a collective vision for where they want to go and who they want to serve. They have a mission to help others flourish and to meet the needs of the world.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] - Consider your highest priorities (organizationally and personally) as you make plans. Write down your top priorities and write the impacts or possible outcomes for each priority.
Gifts / Resource Allocation
Great leaders take inventory of the talents and resources available to them in order to create the most clever plans. The manager took a quick inventory of his abilities and resources in devising his clever scheme:
“The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg — I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
“So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:3-5[.no-reftag]
His quick talent assessment concluded that his talents did not include manual labor! However, he felt convinced in his intellectual ability to manipulate and to use his relationships as the key resource for his future needs.
Many organizations do “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis” (or S.W.O.T) to design strategic plans.
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Consider your organization’s greatest gifts and resources – or your own individual gifting. Have you fully considered how to leverage all that you have to meet the largest opportunity at hand? Can your strengths be an offset for your greatest weakness, or can they be used to mitigate a threat that poses a serious risk?
The End Goal Matters Most
Jesus recognized the shrewdness of the manager and the cleverness of people all over the world: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:8[.no-reftag]
Yet, this is much more a rebuke than it is a compliment, because next we see Jesus reveal His strategy for telling the parable.
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:9[.no-reftag]
Jesus is making the key point that it is good and clever to use your gifts and resources to gain friends, but He is pointing out that you should consider how long you want the relationship to last — temporarily or eternally?
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:10-12[.no-reftag]
Even more, you should consider the owner of all things, the source of power to do all things, and the purpose of all things (Romans 11:36).
Jesus is saying that unadulterated strategy puts everything toward one thing. He is saying that even in the temporary, seemingly inconsequential moments, consider the eternally consequential impacts.
Jesus emphasizes that the temporary should serve the permanent and concludes by warning us against our largest temporary distraction:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” - [.no-reftag]Luke 16:13[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Clever Tip[.text-color-blue] — Use this form to consider the change needed and the impact of the possible eternal outcomes on each of your priorities. Then consider all of your gifts and resources to design a clever plan with the highest impact —giving all glory to God — for the most number of people.
Resources:
Video: "Strategy Part 3 | Put Everything Toward One Thing"
Worksheet: Strategy Planning Form
Article: "Strategy is Clever, Clever Planning on Purpose"
Article: "Something's Gotta Change"
Video: "Strategy Part 1 | What do you have?"
Video: "Strategy Part 2 | Change Just in Time"
Sermon: "The Parable of the Shrewd Manager", Redeemer Downtown | Will Anderson