Strategy versus Tactics

Strategy is of paramount importance yet apparently difficult for most managers to clearly explain or understand.

The common view of 'strategy', and its counterpoint 'tactics', is that 'strategy is about the long-term, whilst tactics are about the short-term.

Inline with that view comes Tregos and Zimmerman who defined strategy as:

"A framework within which decisions are made which establish the nature and direction of the business."

The 'nature and direction of the business' is quite a 'top-level' and 'long-term-view' definition of strategy.

But viewing 'strategy' as either 'top-down', 'long-term' or 'regarding the nature and direction of the business' is cumbersome and obsolete.

Here's why:

My most favored view of strategy and tactics comes from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) which defines:

• Strategy – as the answer to the question 'what for' (objective, purpose)
• Tactics – as the answer to the question 'how' (process, actions)

This posits both strategy and tactics as existing together at each and every level of the organization, from top to bottom – not just 'strategy at the top and tactics at the bottom'.

Watch a short video of Eli Goldratt explaining his approach to strategy and tactics:

See my post on the TOC Strategy and Tactics Tree.

Popularity: 4% [?]

• Small Business Marketing Strategy Throughout www.gavrielshaw.com you find lots on business marketing strategy... But what about small business marketing? First, it depends how small...
• How to fix an unclear brand and marketing strategy Garth The challenges I see are: No brand strategy An unclear marketing strategy The second you are assisting us on....
• Marketing Due Diligence by McDonald, Smith, and Ward Notes adapted from the book Marketing Due Diligence, 2007 A route to creating sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing as a discipline...
• The Secret Of STRATEGIC Management for Today’s Experiential Marketplace Let’s get one thing straight about 'Strategic Management' right off the bat... Strategy is NOT just for 'top-level' or ‘long-term’...
• Marketing Resource Management | Jansen & Riemersma Notes adapted from the book Marketing Resource Management by Jansen and Riemersma Product Information Management (PIM) Digital Asset Management (DAM)...

• Email Marketing Strategies And Spam Words Today I am going to share with you one of my email marketing strategies. In just about every circle online...
• Postage Stamp Collecting Terms There are a number of terms that are specific to postage stamp collecting within philatelic circles. These postage stamp collecting...
• Money Market Funds Explained Money market funds are mutual funds that feature safety, high liquidity and current income or interest in the form of...
• Do You Know Enough In Order To Opt For A Right Internet Marketing Strategy? While dealing with the Internet Marketing you might face some difficulties choosing the best strategy or the technique. It should...
• Internet Network Marketing - Finding The Right Traffic A big problem that plagues people who start a network marketing business online is they do not know where to...

Tagged as: alan weiss, business strategy, cogent vision, executive tool, implementation, implementation notes, implementing strategy, Management, motive force, planning, strategic profiling, strategy, strategy and tactics, strategy formulation and implementation, tactics, theory of constraints, toc, vision