One step ahead, that's not plan, two or three steps ahead, this is the plan!

领先一步，这不叫计划，领先两到三步，这才是计划！

youdao

He who is two or three steps ahead of his people is a leader. He who is twenty or thirty yards ahead is a target.

两三步先行于众人，他就是一个带领者。二三十码远离众人，他就成为一个目标。

youdao

Wall Street always seems to be two or three steps ahead of the game.

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Also, in memory of my mother, any widow coming into my court would start out three steps ahead.

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In one situation, the compensation committee chair recognized that the CEO was always two or three steps ahead of the compensation committee, and was using this preemptive strategy to take advantage of the situation.

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