Leadership: Create Innovative Strategies

Nehemiah 2:6-8. “Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”

So far we’ve talked about developing a powerful vision and establishing specific goals. One of the big questions remaining is How? That’s where strategies come into play. Strategies define how the goals will be accomplished.

As we’ve discussed, Nehemiah’s goal was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. He prayed and then asked King Artaxerxes for permission to rebuild the wall. He was not sure how the king would react to the request. The king had the power of life or death over his subjects and Nehemiah was “very much afraid” to make his request.

But here’s the cool thing. Instead of fearfully hoping for a “yes” from the king, Nehemiah was already prepared to lay out his strategies in the form of more requests of the king – presuming that the king would answer his initial request in the affirmative.

So in the verses above, we see that immediately after asking permission to rebuild the wall, he gives the king a timetable, a request for an armed escort through dangerous territory, and a bill of materials for the wall repairs. In other words, he had thought through the strategies he would use to rebuild the wall, and which ones required the king’s assistance.

You will need innovative strategies to accomplish your goals. Think about new, unconventional approaches. Think about partners who bring complementary capabilities to your efforts. Identify people with special skills who might join your team. A great vision and clear goals do not mean much without a plan for accomplishing them, so plan on spending some time answering the “how” question.

And pray! Nehemiah spent “some days” fasting and praying when he first heard the news of Jerusalem’s sorry state. We learn that he did not approach the king with his requests until four months later (from Kislev to Nissan) – suggesting that he spent much time praying and planning. So must we pray and plan!