Strategy versus Tactics

By Dr. Wilbert R. Mutoko

7th October 2019

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There are so many definitions of strategy. I think this is because the word strategy is fancy, and everyone has their own definition of it. Many times, people use tactics and they call them strategies. Nevertheless, is a strategy the same as a tactic?

The strategy has its roots in the military. In the military, they say, ‘If you have a (good) strategy, the war is 50% won.’ What this means is that for you to win a war, you need a long-term plan on how you will defeat your opponent, battle after battle. In my opinion, what you do for one battle should not be called strategies, but rather, tactics. Tactics are short-term while strategies are long-term and all-encompassing.

The same applies to football games. The team management, coach and his/her team should have a strategy for three to five years on how they will beat their opponents and lift as many trophies as possible. However, each game can have tactics for winning.

Similarly, businesses need to have a three-to-five-year strategy which stipulates the direction which the business will take. A strategy helps you to remain focused. It assists the organization to know what to do and what not to do.

Does your organization have a strategy? Has the strategy been cascaded to all employees? Do all the employees understand the strategy? Is everyone sure of where they belong in the strategy?