Strategy Amp; Tactics 2

The terms "strategy" and "tactics" originated as military terminology derived from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Since then, they've been adapted to fit different situations beyond just military usage, including business strategy.

While strategy is the action plan that takes you where you want to go, the tactics are the individual steps and actions that will get you there. In a business context, this means the specific actions teams take to implement the initiatives outlined in the strategy.

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If someone is trying to reach their goals solely with strategy, they won't get anywhere since tactics are the concrete action items that take you where you need to go. When a team only uses strategy, the only thing that they'll be doing is planning to achieve goals instead of doing the work that needs to be done to achieve them.

On the other hand, you can't achieve your business goals on tactics alone. Tactics without strategy quickly turns into aimless work. When this is the case, people are just taking arbitrary actions with no strategic objective in place. In the short term, this can feel like busywork for team members. In the long term, it can lead to frustration, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.

A good strategy is well thought out, planned, and extremely well researched. If you're looking to build a strong, long-term strategy, it's important to gather information and data from past experiences to influence your future data-driven decision making process.

The best strategies are built around clearly defined goals. It's much easier to build a good strategy when you know exactly what you need to achieve. Having clearly defined goals is a key part of the overall planning process for long-term strategy. Some people plan both their strategy and their business goals at the same time, which can streamline the process. But if there's no end goal, trying to create your strategy is like trying to run a race without knowing the route.

The success of your strategy is contingent on an expected outcome, but what happens when your strategy gets derailed? This is where a contingency plan comes in. If you build a contingency plan into your strategy, then you can plan for speed bumps. Your team will know what to do to get over the speed bump to prevent the project from getting completely derailed.

The goal-setting framework OKRs is a good example of how short-term tactics connect to a long-term vision. There is one main objective, and there are key results that you set to achieve that main objective. The tactics that people work on regularly contribute to the growth of the key result.

Good strategy starts with organized planning. If you're looking for a way to keep your business goals organized, consider using a work management tool. Work management software can help connect your day-to-day tactics to long-term strategy.

Most school systems are continuously striving to improve learning outcomes as demonstrated through standardized test scores. There are a variety of strategies and tactics you could adopt to accomplish that mission.

These tactics will help identify bottlenecks in your existing processes and provide data you can use to make better decisions, all of which will hopefully unlock greater capacity within the resources that already exist.

A good KPI uses quantifiable data to answer questions about progress and give you ideas on how to further improve those numbers. For example, if your strategy is to increase customer satisfaction, a net promoter score (NPS) could be the KPI. There are many factors that might go into the answer for a NPS score, and with the help of additional questions, an organization could learn which areas to focus their improvements on.

As an example, the ClearPoint summary report below is for a local government. It shows a clear alignment between city strategies (goals) and tactics, along with status indicators (green, yellow, or red), qualitative analysis, tactic owners, percent complete, and end dates.

What makes leading with a strategy different than leading with tactics? Strategy creation requires taking a step back, identifying your main objective (goal), creating a strategy that includes multiple smaller tactics, and then executing on those tactics.

For the first example, let's say you'd like to develop new clients. A tactic could include creating a cold calling list and starting your calls. But a larger strategy that will help make this tactic more effective consists of considering your reputation, how you're perceived by people external to your company and curating an approach that reaches multiple target audiences with the same narrative.

Start with what sets your business apart, develop standard language around it, and then experiment with prospective clients to see what best resonates. This step back gives you the perspective to refine your tactics. Your overarching strategy should help you consider who should make it on the cold-calling list and what you should say to them.

But if you want these tactics to work, you have to start at the root of the issue. Why do your employees say they are unhappy? What issues impact their engagement? Start there and then determine your goal and then determine the specific tactics that will help you get there. For example, a pizza party may be more or less effective at team building for your company than more frequent 1-to-1s between team members and their managers, depending on where the issue stems from. You cannot guess which tactics will solve your problem if you have not created the back-end strategy to drive the tactics.

You can run a business based only on tactics. But I've found you cannot run an effective business without strategy underpinning those tactics. Yes, it takes more time, attention and company resources. But developing a strategy will give you a 360-degree perspective and equip you with the ability to see the chess pieces move as they do and adjust your moves accordingly.

Most isolated tactics stand the same chance of working: almost none. Tactics without strategy have no driving force and nothing to pivot to if your tactics are not working. Instead, start with understanding the problem, creating a goal and developing a strategic approach to reach that goal. You skipped the first three steps of creating an effective plan. You can later fold in any or all of these tactics once you fully understand the goal with clear metrics for success. By starting with tactics, you have no way of gauging if or when you reach your goal.

Companies that mistake their tactics for their strategies are, at best, doomed to mediocre, temporary success. On the other hand, companies that develop strategic plans with little concern for their tactics fail to implement them.

An effective strategy is based on analyzing key metrics and relevant data to gain insights into the organization's performance and market dynamics. By focusing on these essential indicators, a good strategy can identify areas of improvement and align actions to achieve optimal outcomes.

A good strategy sets clear and measurable business goals. These goals serve as the foundation for your business plan and provide a sense of direction for the entire organization. Clear business goals enable teams to align their efforts and resources toward a common long-term vision.

A successful strategy is rooted in a thorough understanding of the organization's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. It takes into account the current market conditions, competitive landscape, and potential challenges that may arise, supported by relevant data. By acknowledging reality and relying on data-driven insights, a good strategy becomes more pragmatic and achievable.

The meaning of tactics is the specific actions you take to achieve your short-term or long-term goals. They will most likely be informed by your strategic goals and approach, but they are far more specific.

Tactics are not outcomes, nor are they measures of success. Note that there is no mention of the specific actions that go into achieving your business goals in our definition of strategy. That's where tactics come into play.

Effective tactics are closely aligned with the organization's strategic goals. They support the broader strategic direction and contribute directly to achieving the strategic objectives. When tactics are well-aligned with the overall strategy, you can be sure that every action taken is focused on driving the company toward achieving the key metrics you set in your strategic plan.

Good tactics consist of short-term actions that lead to tangible progress. They break down the strategic plan into manageable steps, providing a focused and efficient approach to achieving objectives. Because of their short-term nature, you can easily track their progress and quickly pivot along the way, making them very adaptable and flexible.

Apple's ecosystem strategy encourages customers to buy multiple Apple products, as they work seamlessly together. For instance, iPhones sync effortlessly with Mac computers and other Apple devices, enhancing the user experience and promoting brand loyalty.

As you can see, you will likely have multiple tactics aligned with each of your long-term strategy's objectives. And your overall strategic planning process will likely include tens, if not hundreds, of tactics in total.

As you can see, the top half of the model is concerned with strategic thinking and strategic objectives, while tactics (Actions/Projects) come in towards the bottom alongside the measures of success - your KPIs.

Tactics are the best estimate of which short-term actions, when executed, will help the company achieve its strategic goals. But the tactics themselves are not a measure of the success of your strategy.

If we look at our strategy model once more, you'll see that we represent this by adding KPIs underneath the objectives and next to tactics. So, in our example, we would need to add some measurable business goals into the mix alongside our tactics, like: 2351a5e196