What is the difference between a strategy and a tactic?
When I co-owned the Apple computer dealership in 1980 my partner and I had no training in how to run a business and there weren't even courses to learn how to do it. After three moves we finally found a space where we could grow the business without moving again and decided to hire a management consultant to teach us how to plan -- and to "kick our butts" so we'd do it!
We worked with him for three years and he not only taught us how to plan but made sure we did. He was the one who taught us that a strategy and a tactic are two different things.
What is a strategy and is it a part of your plan?
Planning to me is a process and I use the word plan as a verb not a noun so yes a strategy is part of planning. You often hear the term strategic planning. The Merriam Webster Online dictionary has a great definition of strategy - "a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time -- and -- the skill of making or carrying out plans to achieve a goal."
Have I confused you? Let me explain.
- plan - where you want to be including your strategy and tactics
- strategy - what you believe and why
- tactics - tasks - how you'll get there
Think of chess. A player has an overall strategy and the moves are the tactics that fit with the strategy.
What are tactics?
They're the specific actions you take using your strategy to get the results you want in your plan.
I'll use sailing as an analogy. Let's say you start in Toronto and want to go over to Rochester. That's your plan. You use sailing to get there because you like being outdoors and love the physical challenge that it provides. That's your strategy.
The wind changes from nothing to strong but you're ready for this. You use different sails and actions for each kind. These are your tactics.
A great quote I found when researching this topic is from Jeremiah Owyang "... strategy is done above the shoulders, tactics are done below the shoulders".
Keep learning, and until next time.
Trudy Van Buskirk