Mini Post: Tactics vs Strategy

Confusingly similar but meaningfully different terms

The modern office is a culture of its own.

When I first started working, I thought every consulting meeting was a ‘left handed wrench’ trick. I was convinced that someone would break and tell me that they were messing with me.

I was wrong.

A common trick on new mechanics is to send them on fools errands—such as finding a left handed wrench, or a board stretcher

Corporate jargon—a language of its own—replaces casually spoken english in the office.

(Un)fortunately, a few¹ of the corporat-ese vocab words are actually useful.

Specifically, the (very similar²) terms "tactical" and "strategic" explain important distinctions in actions—especially in conversations about planning and execution.

Understanding these terms—and the importance of having a strategy before acting—can significantly impact the success of a business.

Start with Strategy

Strategic thinking involves long-term planning.

It’s about understanding the big picture.³

For example:

• a marketing team might set their strategy to “Increase average order size by 25%”.

• an accounting team might resolve to “reduce reporting time by 10%'“

These strategies don’t 'beg the question’ of pre-defining a specific method of achieving the goal. The strategy sets the target, but doesn’t tell you how to get there.

The specific actions to get there are the ‘tactics’.

Bringing Strategy to Life: Tactics

Tactics are the specific activities that move you closer to strategic goals.

For example, on the marketing team strategy goal above, some tactics might be:

Tactics:

• Analyze cross-sell opportunities for ‘related item’ offerings

• Find streamlined web flows so that users can add items more smoothly to cart

• Increase higher-revenue product offerings on the front page

Not all (nor even most) of the tactics that you use will succeed at your goal.

But you should always be able to record something useful from each.

Failing, FTW!: Why you should fail 50% of your experiments

Why Strategy Comes First

So why does strategy have to be planned before jumping right in?

1. Direction and Purpose: Without a clear strategy, businesses risk wasting time and resources trying things without a goal. A strategy provides direction and purpose, ensuring that all actions are purposeful.

2. Resource Allocation: Strategic planning helps businesses allocate their resources more effectively. By understanding the bigger picture, you can prioritize investment and order.

3. Measuring Success: A strategic framework allows you to set clear benchmarks for success. This makes it easier to measure progress and make adjustments to stay on track.

Conclusion

Strategic thinking sets the bullseye. Tactics help you get there.

You must set the strategy first.

Without a clear, overarching strategy, tactical efforts may be misguided or ineffective.

The process of strategic planning might seem daunting, but it's a critical investment in a business's future success.

Knowing where you’re trying to go is key to getting there.

1. I once heard someone complain about ‘incentivize’ because it was a verb form of the original ‘incentive’—that battle is lost.

2. For the first year or so of working, I didn’t believe there was a difference and thought it was an episode of Punk’d

3. Obviously, different scopes of strategy are appropriate