Leadership: God’s Plan of Success for Executives Sample

Daniel: COO of Babylon, Inc.

Similar to Joseph, Daniel also rose to the position of COO in a foreign entity – in this case, the Babylonian empire. Daniel’s career path was perhaps less painful but no less interesting than that of Joseph:  

• Captured into slavery by Babylon as a young man, most likely 15-18 years old (Daniel 1:3-4)  
• Placed in the 3-year Management Training school (Daniel 1:5)  
• Bumped out to Head office in his second year (Daniel 2:1,2:49)  
• Appointed senior VP responsible for the Babylon region while likely still in his teens (Daniel 2:48)  
• Served in senior leadership for almost 40 years under CEO Nebuchadnezzar   
• Later, promoted by subsequent CEO’s to the #3 and #2 positions over the whole Babylonian enterprise (Daniel 5:29, 6:3)

In total, Daniel served in the senior management ranks of the Babylonian enterprise for over 60 years. The Bible has this to say about his career:

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.  – Daniel 6:28

But why did Daniel prosper? What can we learn from him to apply to your work today? Like we did with Joseph, let’s check some of Daniel’s key work habits and characteristics:

Always Doing His Best; Never Complaining. Starting his career as a slave like Joseph, Daniel just did his best without complaining. Even when things went against his beliefs, he respectfully proposed alternate solutions (Daniel 1:11-14).

Maintaining Integrity. Even towards the end of his career, Daniel‘s opponents could find no fault with him – having to resort to legal technicalities against Daniel’s beliefs to gain an advantage over him as they vied for the top position (Daniel 1:4-5).

Glorifying God, Not Himself. When things went well for Daniel, he also gave credit where it was due – glorifying God for insights and wisdom given, so that even those who did not know God would praise Him. (Daniel 2:27-28, 4:2, 6:19-22)

So why did God bless Daniel, and what does that mean for you today?  Check what the Bible says: 

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.  – Daniel 1:17

Yes, Daniel was given extraordinary gifts and wisdom that were key to his success. But throughout his career, it was his habit to pray – even when the corporate policy changed to specifically outlaw that:

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.  – Daniel 6:10

God clearly blessed Daniel from the beginning, but was prayer his secret to continued success? And why does the Bible not record any incidents of Joseph praying for wisdom or success? And what does this mean for you?

We’ll dig into that next time…

Reflection / Application  

1. We saw a lot of overlap between the work habits and characteristics of Joseph and Daniel. Which characteristics set you apart as a man or woman of God in your organization?   
2. Daniel’s management colleagues knew of his faith and thought that might be an area where they could gain an advantage over him. What does your management team know about your faith? And how do they know that?  
3. Daniel put his faith ahead of even management edicts from above. Sometimes he negotiated for change, at other times, he kept to himself and continued on in his own way. Have you encountered policies or decisions that go against your beliefs? What did you do then?