What is your Goliath?
I suspect most people are aware of the story of David and Goliath, if not read the story in the Bible here. As the story is traditionally interpreted, small David takes on much larger Goliath in a fight for his people. However, this interpretation is misguided. David may have been more average in stature and as this video demonstrates, just out-maneuvered Goliath. It is possible to be brought down or even killed by a well-trained individual. Here are three takeaways that leaders may learn from this story.
It is dangerous to continue to expect your competitor to rely on the same tactics as you. Oftentimes, people change their approach and techniques to get ahead. You should too.—Another great, less violent example of this was in 1968 when Dick Fosbury won Olympic Gold with the Fosbury Flop. The examples are endless. Change is inevitable and relying on the old way could cost you your head.
It is better to be quiet and persevere than to brag and be brought down. Goliath had been taunting the Israelites for 40 days (or in other words for a long time). It was apparent that this rhetoric played mind games with many members of both armies. Goliath thought he could go at it alone and didn’t need his team. Had Goliath roused his team to do battle with him the story would likely have ended much differently for David.
Acts of courage will not always be rewarded. Interestingly enough in this portion of the David chronicle, Saul doesn’t even know David despite giving him his armor. Saul later attempts to get rid of David seeing him as a threat to the kingdom. This eventually leads to Saul’s downfall. Had Saul embraced David earlier maybe things would have gone better for him. Had Blockbuster embraced Netflix, maybe the company would still be around. The takeaway: Great leaders embrace new and creative associates and encourage them to succeed.
What is your Goliath? What are you attempting to overcome and how can you approach the problem differently to generate new solutions?
