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Strategy   URGENT - Need Help Fast!  
 
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What Is Strategy? Why Do I Confuse It With Tactics?Premium Member
Posted By: Jade on 1/8/2007 10:51 AM (CST) 500 Points
All:
This happens to me from time to time - but as I begin writing out the direction for my company, I begin to blur the lines a bit.

Obviously I have the Goal of our company clearly stated and that is to "increase revenue from x to y, in 2007."
That is the correct way to state a goal correct? I've always been told a Goal is a headline.

Then I state my objectives - which are very specific - i.e.
1. increase marketing share by xx%.
2. increase web transactions to total $xxxxx dollars.
3. Increase per-customer transaction total by $xx,
4. Increase customer store visits to xx times per year.

Below these clearly stated objectives I write my strategies and this is where I need help. I start writing things such as this one fore Objective #4 above - "Create and implement "incentive/rewards program"
or "Invite customers to linger longer via "digital/instore video campaign" or "develop "scent marketing campaign".

And below that my tactics get very specific (including researching, writing proposals, investigating print publications, etc.)

Am I on the write track? What is strategy? Why does it often blur with tactics for me?
Can you help? This happens to me often, that I see tactic and strategy as confusing. I've been at this a long time and still, I confuse the two. I've found that so many people have different definitions of goal, objective, strategy and tactic, that it doesn't help to ask. However, I need to get this right in my head before I pitch ideas and clean up marketing for the president of my company.
Thank you in advance.

Posted by: NuCoPro Member Response
1/8/2007 11:01 AM (CST)
The goal and bullet points you list are your strategy, while everything after that is tactics. Strategy is, "What are we going to do?", while tactics is "How are we going to do it?"

Goals and objectives are somewhat of synonyms for "strategy". They're not separate things; just different words to describe the same thing.

Hope this clears it up for you!
 
Posted by: wnelson Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 11:58 AM (CST)
Laura,

The confusion you have comes about because of the misuse in the term "strategy" when talking about developing plans. The "strategy" you are citing is really "the way or direction to solve a particular problem." In business, when we talk about strategy, it's akin to asking, "what do we want to be when we grow up?" So strategy is long term. It's the vision of the company and its departments three to five years out. It starts out with a picture of where you are today and then it takes into account the prognostication of what the rest of the world (customers, competitors, economy, etc) is going to look like then as well. The strategy then paints a picture of what the firm looks like. It looks at core competencies now and those needed to get there. The strategic actions are those activities that support the vision.

I generally forget differentiating between "goals" and "objectives." Too many people use them interchangeably and the distinguishing points between them are really moot. Lets just say you have long term objectives which include a definition of what you want to achieve (like "total company revenue"), metrics which reflects desired success (>$100 million by 2010), and a way to measure it (as measured by actual customer billings). Some people would say that this is a goal because it's a long ways out and an objective would be $60 million in 2007 or $5 million in January. Or that the goal would be "Dramatically increase company revenue by 2010." And the objective would be ">$100 million." Who cares! The important part is to set your expectations for the strategy long term and then break them down into measurable plans with actions to support for this year! Call them Goals for long term and objectives for short term, or Long Term Goals and Short Term Goals - it's just semantics. Set the goals, give them a time frame, make sure you can measure them. These are the critical points.

Another point to cover is that there is an overall company strategy and then each department - manufacturing, engineering, marketing, sales, etc, has a strategy to support that. Also, the strategy, being long term, has to be broken down into the plan for this year - generally referred to as a "business plan." It covers all the activities that need to be done to stay on strategy. Also, it covers the objectives that have be be made this year to be considered on target for the strategy. And each department should have a plan for their particular part for the present year. And finally, regular reviews need to be held to make sure everyone is on plan and that the strategy doesn't need to be changed because the world changed. This is a strategic process.

So your process you described for developing your plan is a good one. Add to it that you look both long term - three to five years out - and short term - this year, as well as making sure short term supports long term and your department plans support the overall company plan, and no matter what the semantics, you have it nailed.

If you would like a look at the strategic process, a strategic plan, and a business plan, click on my name above and it takes you to my profile. In there, you will see a link to my website. I have these categories included, as well as Marketing.

I hope this helps.

Wayde
 
Posted by: tim Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 11:59 AM (CST)
strategy (n) - an elaborate or systematic plan of action.
tactic (n) - an expedient for achieving a goal.

I always think of it this way - strategy is big picture stuff, your overall plan of action or direction; tactics are smaller components that make up the strategy.

Your goal is generally thought of as the thing you want to accomplish, with objectives being short-term, measurable way points that let you know if you're moving toward the goal.

So, to put it together it's like this: There was a girl who wanted to get to the top of a great hill where the trees had the best fruit (goal). She knew it would be a long and arduous journey so she got out a map and traced the route she would take as she rode her trusty horse up the hill (strategy). Next, she made note of several landmarks that she'd encounter along the way in order to gauge her progress (objectives). Anticipating the obstacles she'd come across, she developed individual techniques for getting around or over them - such as how to traverse low-hanging limbs in the forest with her horse (tactics). When she had clarity around these things, she set out on her journey. Although she had some challenges, she achieved her goal and, ultimately, lived happily ever after.

No extra charge for the parable. ; )
 
Posted by: Emi_C Member Response
1/8/2007 12:21 PM (CST)
lets simplify this...

strategy is general and well defined

tactics are part of your stratey, they are implemented on day to day basis, and you amend these as you go along in order to realise your overal strategy

You are right, tactics are very specific and they come as subcategories of strategy :)

I hope this helps :)
Emi
 
Posted by: lraul_marroquin Member Response
1/8/2007 12:24 PM (CST)
You find strategy and tactic alike because they both move to action, however the distinction between them is the scope they pertain, strategies are general oriented an tactics are specific oriented.

Strategy strives for an idea that traces a long term action curse for something you believe valuable, an idea that supports the fulfillment of your utmost objetives (call it vision, mission, company goals). Its language will be general oriented.

Tactics strives for short term action plans that organize resources to attain a competitive position, a tactic use specific oriented language to declare the methods and resources alocation you will use you to gain something you spoted as valuable.

Strategy gives to tactics coherence and tactics give to strategy support.

You are on the track with the method you use, review your plan and ensure it clearly states where you are heading your efforts (goals, objetives), what are you going to do support it (strategy) and how are you going to attain it (tactics).
 
Posted by: Jade Author Response
1/8/2007 12:45 PM (CST)
Thank you all for your input.
Wayde I think you helped me understand that I need to have a "Big Picture" strategy in mind, and then each individual department must identify a way to support that with their own strategy. I"m responsible for marketing so that would be my long term strategy to create.

Additionally, I think you've put strategy before objective and I like that.
I'm very linear, so I would see that as helping narrow the process of thinking from biggest idea (Goal) to narrowest focus (tactic). I found confusion when I went from Objective (narrow and specific) to Strategy, which is broad.

Tim, the parable helps and that is the way I've always thought of the process.

I have trouble between the BIG picture company wide strategy and my individual marketing strategy. But I guess I can't have one without the other right?

So for now, should I move forward with the examples as I've shared them with you? Would you change anything outside of listing an overall long term company strategy? I"m glad to know you see my tactics as just that, tactics.
So at least I've got that part right.
And from what I am hearing there are two ways to look at strategy: 1. overall, longterm company guidance, and 2. narrower to support short term company goals. All the while, integrating long and short time objectives.

What would I do without all of you? Thank you!!!!
 
Posted by: Focus Fields Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 12:58 PM (CST)
I am going to go with analogy approach similar to what tim did. He and I will disagree in a minute, as he notes the following: "would take as she rode her trusty horse up the hill (strategy)." I would argue this is a tactic.

Here's my analogy:

You have to travel from NY to California. This is your goal, your vision.

Your strategy is how you want to approach this journey. Some acceptable strategy statements here might be: get there is the shortest time possible, enjoy the scenery, have fun. A strategy doesn't always have to sound so lifeless and business like.

Taking one of these strategies, you can see how it would affect your tactics. If your strategy is "get there as fast as possible," that going to dictate your tactics. You'll probably have to take a plane and one step further a helicopter to the airport, etc. If your strategy is "enjoy the scenery" then you are going to research appropriate routes, maybe get a big recreational vehicle to drive in, etc.

A simple way to determine if something is a tactic...is this specific statement going to cost me money (or resources of some kind)? "Get there as fast as possible" in of itself costs nothing, so it's a strategy. "Take a plane and helicopter" is a tactic because you have to invest money to do this. Same thing for "research routes to see the most historic places"...it's a tactic because even if you didn't hire someone to do this work, some resources (namely your time) were required to complete it.

That's the reason for my disagreement with Tim. Where'd the horse come from? Using a horse is a tactic. Getting to the top as safely as possible or getting to the top without expending any personal energy are strategies here. The things you will use to get to the top (including plotting your route) are all tactics.

Hope this helps.

JMR for Focus Fields.
 
Posted by: prhyatt Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 12:59 PM (CST)
Jade-
I see lots of good responses here and lots of examples. Let me add one other illustration, using YOUR objectives, Maybe that will help clarify.

Let's take this objective:
"increase web transactions to total $xxxxx dollars"
Your strategies might include (1) Convert more telesales transactions to online transactions. (2) Increase awareness of your Web site among, let's say, people who get their news online. A tactic for strategy #1 might be "Run a promotion offering $50 cash back when a customer makes a purchase online." A tactic for strategy #2 might be "Run a banner ad on two national news sites, such as CNN or Fox News."
I hope that helps clarify.
 
Posted by: Jade Author Response
1/8/2007 1:24 PM (CST)
prhyatt:
That does help! Thank you.
So we all agree that strategy unto itself is broader - a way to help achieve an objective. I'm not sure I agree that it does have dollar value associated with it.
For example if my Objective is to increase online sales to $XXX, and my strategy is to identify new audience-larger audience to serve, and then my tactic is the $50 coupon, doesn't the strategy have cost associated with it?
 
Posted by: wnelson Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 1:25 PM (CST)
Laura,

Depending on your timeframe, I recommend you go forward with looking at the long term goals of the company and then those of your marketing department as they would support the company goals. Ultimately, a strategic process is a collective work with all departments contributing to come up with the company whole. Then, they break the company goals into their department goals for their own strategy and organize a more detailed set of strategic actions to support the company strategy. But, you probably don't have the time right now (you have a plan deadline pending) so do your best to outline the company strategy and your marketing department strategy to support that - long term, 3 to 5 years. Likely goals for your marketing department that would align with the company goals would be things like revenue, share, product portfolio actions (expanding and obsoleting, as it makes sense). Then, based on this, devise the 2007 set of goals that would make sense given your strategy - make them hang together. If you have strategies and/or business plan goals that require support from another department - say, product development (they have to develop the new products in your plan) or manufacturing (they have to have capacity to manufacture enough products to meet your revenue plans), then negotiate an agreement with them so you are in synch for both this year and for the strategy. Let them know, however, that the strategy is only a "draft" until everyone can get together and develop one in the right way, but you needed something to shoot for.

If you would like to bounce things off me as you go along, feel free to give me a call - my phone is on my website, as is my eMail. Good luck!

Wayde
 
Posted by: mbarber Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 4:36 PM (CST)
Gidday Jade

Let me take you back to the word 'Strategy' (I train strategic foresight at a defence force college as well as lot's of corporate clients at a board and senior management level so it's a key area for me and I offer just one opinion among the many good ones you already have been given).

The word Strategy is derived from the Greek word Strategos which means 'General'. In olden military times the general would sit atop the mountainside and send instructions from atop the hill about where his (always male in those days) troops should move to.

The KEY to remember is that those instructions were given and made PRIOR to actual engagement with the enemy.

This therefore ties into Wayde's idea about longer term vision, though Wayde and I may differ on what we see as Vision and Strategy.

So, the General tried to give his troops a head start by giving them a good starting point before the fighting got underway. This is still the key requirement for businesses today though FAR TOO MANY develop their strategy as they go. BUT, this isn't strategy at all - it is merely coping and as such, all of their issues as TACTICS for coping with changes.

This is where you define the difference between srategy and tactics. The tactics are 'reflexive' orientated as in 'We want to get a glass of milk from the fridge' (strategy/aim/intention). The tactics to achieve that are the step by step instructions - stand up, move left foot and leg, move right foot and leg, repeat proicess until standing within arms reach of fridge, raise left arm, grasp handle, contract bicep whilst maintaining grip on handle of fridge door, door will open... etc etc etc. These are the specific tactics required to achieve the intended strategy of glass of milk which is in fact tied to the more visionary and less specific requirement of 'quench your thirst'

As others have also suggested the golas objectives argument is interechangeable.

So from a heirarchy point of view - Vision is broad and generally lacks specific 'how to' instructions. Strategy is a major step towards achieving a Vision. More instructions about the arenas for engagement but still lacking specific how to instructions. Just a refining of where, when and why. Tactic is the specific intended action. Tactics are short term and should be able to be executed quickly, before you pull out another tactic. If you can't execute a tactic quickly it is likely you are too broad and are playing in the area of strategy.

Marcus :-)
 
Posted by: KathySmithFilms* Member Response
1/8/2007 5:18 PM (CST)
Hi Jade,
The worthwhileness of any evolution depends on the soundness of the strategic plan.

But the strategic plan is dependent upon programs and projects being written to target form and which are doable within the resources available. Compliance is a done target. The person doing the target might not be aware of the overall strategic plan or how it fits into it, but I assure you that it is very poor management indeed whose targets do not all implement to one degree or another the overall strategic plan.

The upper planning body turns out a strategic plan. Middle management turns this strategic plan into tactical orders. They do this on a long-term basis and a short-term basis. When you get on down to the short-term basis you have your daily/weekly "to do's". These turn strategic planning into exact doable targets which are then executed in terms of motion and action for the immediate period being worked on and removing anything impeding it...resulting when good, into forward progress. Enough carried out successfully result in the reality of the overall strategic plan.

The "Art of War" is a good book to read for marketing and "playing the piano" of an organization from the top on down. Upper management knows how to play and can delegate to middle and lower management to control their zones of influence towards the whole.

It would be good to work with Wayde. I have worked with him and find him competent in the area you need to sort things into an alignment for your expansion.

My best to you,
Kathy
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 6:01 PM (CST)
Enough has been said about strategy to have clarified that aspect of your question.

I'd like to focus on how you define your objectives to help you develop your strategy.

If you write each major objective down the side of a page or spreadsheet, then across the top write these six words as column headings:

| What | Why | How | Where | Who | When |

Then write an answer in respect of each major objective under those headings... At the end you will have a very full definition of what each objective is about that will aid in its communication to the people who are actually going to deliver on it.

Next, ask yourself the question "How will I measure whether this objective is working or not?" - which is where you put your growth rates etc.

Can I just caution you against being highly specific about your growth rate as a headline objective. If you plan on 7% overall sales growth and put in place a reasonable set of strategies, implement and manage them properly, you'd probably achieve 7% growth.

What you'll never know is how much growth you should have been able to achieve in the same period - maybe it should have been 35%?

Review your strategic performance and metrics at least quarterly. Keep it high level. Don't be afraid to raise the bar if the goals are being easily met.

Good luck.

ChrisB
 
Posted by: shghosh Member Response
1/9/2007 3:58 AM (CST)
Sun Tzu says- Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
You got a lot of great responses ! Was a pleasure reading through it all.
 
Posted by: KathySmithFilms* Member Response
1/9/2007 5:11 AM (CST)
...out of the mouths of babes! Ditto shghosh! Thanks. I learn lots from your posts as well!!!
Kathy
 
Posted by: Jade Author Response
1/9/2007 8:21 AM (CST)
Chris:
I like your perspective.
I think what I"m seeing here is that all of my mid level planning and "strategy" won't amount to a hill of beans without exec. level direction and strategy.
I think I have it but I will contact Wayde off forum to discuss.
You are all amazing and I thank you for your willingness to share with me your insights.
I will award points soon but I will keep this question open for a bit longer, in case someone happens by with additional info.
Again,
Thank you.
Laura
 
Posted by: NuCoPro Member Response
1/9/2007 8:36 AM (CST)
A lesson I learned early in my career is that executive agreement and participation are, perhaps, the most critical things required to ensure the success of any initiative.

If the boss makes it clear and continually reinforces they are expecting the success of an initiative, it will almost always achieve success. However, if executives don't "push" an initiative it's success is problematic. It may not fail, but it will never fully achieve it's objectives.

I continually marvel at how this lesson NEVER sinks in across career fields and industries. I guarantee you will see articles in myriad industry journals, year after year, talking about how this or that initiative failed due to lack of executive commitment.
 
Posted by: Focus Fields Accepted Answer
1/9/2007 9:19 AM (CST)
There is a very straightforward process that you can used to pull together some of the pieces that Wade has referenced (which I happen to agree with and think would be a great start). Go to this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_Scorecard

Using the Balanced Scorecard (which has appeared in Harvard Business Review numerous times) can help you bring together all these pieces and separate tactics from strategy. It also ensure that everyone follows the same company strategies, but customizes their contribution to how their department will get the company to where it wants to be.

JMR for Focus Fields.
 
Posted by: telemoxie Member Response
1/9/2007 7:25 PM (CST)
Jade - thanks for asking this question. I know that I've learned quite a bit from reading the responses so far.

People have used many terms, such as "Goal", "Objective", Strategy", "Vision", "Task", "Tactic", and probably some others that I have missed. Lots of high level ideas and comments here... but at some point your list and this collection of terms and definitions needs to become an "actionable document".

Might I suggest that you go thru the exercise of taking the list you initially presented in your question, organize it in an appropriate hierarchy, and indicate whether you now believe it is a Vision, or Goal, or Objective, or Strategy, or or Tactic, or combination of several of these.

This way, folks can comment specifically on your current thinking and outline... and you should have a proven model into which you (and I) can start filling in details (and strategies, and tactics... and visions...) Good luck.
 
Posted by: Jade Author Response
1/10/2007 9:13 AM (CST)
Great idea telemoxie. I'm simply fearful of putting too much specific information on this forum. But, I might do want you've described on a smaller level. Thank you!
Laura
 
Posted by: gh_niz* Accepted Answer
1/11/2007 12:27 AM (CST)
Jade

Strategy: What you are going to do to achieve your vision.
Your strategy is one or more plans that you will use to achieve your vision. To be "the largest retailer of automobiles in the city" you might have to decide whether it is better strategy for you to buy other retailers, try to grow a single retailer, or a combination of both. A strategy looks inward at the organization, but it also looks outward at the competition and at the environment and business climate.

Tactics: How you will achieve your strategy and when.
Your tactics are the specific actions, sequences of actions, and schedules you will use to fulfill your strategy. If you have more than one strategy you will have different tactics for each.

Gaff
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Member Response
1/11/2007 5:01 AM (CST)
Jade

Thanks - and kudos for Focus Fields who suggested Balanced Scorecard - the best execution framework, bar none, when correctly implemented.

If you need help with Balanced Scorecard - feel free to check out the content on my website, via my profile, and contact me if you need one-on-one help.
 
Posted by: reg Accepted Answer
1/11/2007 9:56 AM (CST)
Lots of very helpful responses here. I do believe that one thing, however, has been overlooked. Fact is, there are actually three (3) levels of strategy: Corporate, Business Unit (SBU) and Product/Market. At the Corporate level, the strategic question is "How do we grow?" To which there is a limited set of straightforward answers: (1) market penetration, (2) market development, (3) product development, (4) diversification. (Might also include backward and forward integration, depending on the business). At the SBU level, the strategic question is, "Where do we focus?" This means making some decisions about the ways in which the company makes money: through the products you sell and through the customers who buy them. These intersections of products and markets provide unique opportunities, and you need to determine which are most valuable to you. Having made that decision, the question at the product/market level is "How do we compete?" This requires an understanding of the Critical-to-Quality factors (CTQs) in each product/market, where you have positive or negative gaps in performance on those CTQs, leading to the identification of opportunities to either leverage or close those gaps. These selection of opportunities to meet your business performance objectives is what will ultimately constitute your strategy at the product/market level. There's a really good book that explains all this more fully, called Competing for Customers and Winning with Value, available from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com
 
Posted by: Tony Wanless Accepted Answer
1/12/2007 7:15 PM (CST)
Many great responses here, but you may be overwhelmed by information by now, largely because everybody starts from a different point of view. So I'll just give a management consultant's overview.

As a strategic planner, I have always tried to explain that strategy is a large plan; tactics are how you're going to implement that plan.

Don't get too hung up on the terminology. Just remember that strategy is what you want to do or be, and tactics is how you're going to do or be it.

The above analogy of travelling from California to NY, or the reverse is probably the best illustration.

As to how, try the descending-the-ladder method with each: Start from very general and work your way down to very specific.

IE Strategic planning might be to increase revenue, with successive explanations of that: Tactical planning might be to more aggressively market, with successive explanations of that.

It works for a business, a department, or an individual -- in business and in life.

Tony Wanless
 
Posted by: Jade Author Response
1/15/2007 8:22 AM (CST)
thank you all.
You've been amazing resources.
I'm going to close this question and get to work on my project.
Of course, I may tap many of you for more information as the plan progresses.
I've awarded points to those who best explained their philosophy and helped me understand how to move forward.
Thank you again.
Laura
 


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