Tactics and Strategy

[Dale]

I have to admit...I just don't really get the difference.

[Aanvil]

Strategy: big picture vision with a long term plan to reaching a goal. In war it is usually to "Win"



Tactics: What you do to get your long term plan to work. Can range from large scale coordinated practiced operations to small scale squad actions.

Its a taught and trained method of getting the job done.

[peeplj]

Well, to me, strategy is a term that describes your long-term goal and your long-term approach for trying to reach it.

Tactics to me speak more of the actual breakdown of things that have to be done to make your goals achievable.

Different folks will doubtless have different answers.

--James

[BillChin]

Most common usage is for military missions. Tactics are short term and small unit operations. Strategy involves the large units. For instance storming the beach at Normandy in 1944, and taking out a specific artillery piece or machine gun nest involves tactics. Planning how many men, ships and planes are needed to make the invasion a success, when to give the go ahead for the invasion, are strategic decisions.

The most common usage for the next two years will likely to be in articles about the presidential campaign. Tactics might involve what to say and what not to say on stump speeches. How aggressive to be in the early debates. Strategy might involve decisions such as how much time to spend in each state, what percentage of the campaign money should be spent early, vs. saving for later.

[gonzo914]

When your wife tells you to fix the dripping sink, mow the lawn, paint the fence and clean the garage, she is doing strategy.

When you actually fix the dripping sink, mow the lawn, paint the fence and clean the garage, you are doing tactics.

If instead of doing all those things, you decide to f*rt around in the basement with a bunch of whistles, you are doing a strategy, too, but not a very good one.

[talasiga]

I have to admit...I just don't really get the difference.

The Red Baron was a tactician but Biggles was a strategist.
If there was a cloud in the sky Biggles took advantage of it
whereas a pure tactician would just stick to their drill.
the learned tactic regardless of broad and unique opportunities.

Good players know tactics but always effect them them
(and modify them) according to strategic exigencies/oppotunities.

Think Biggles.
Think Alexander the Great
also (and equally properly) known as Iskander
and Alexandros.

(I also like what peeplj said).

[talasiga]

Let me give another example.

Let's say you are moderator and owner of a racing car forum
Its a great forum going for some time
but there is a growing trend for many veteran members to start discussing non racing car stuff in the forum. It gets to the stage that the forum begins to lose its hallmark as a racing car forum. You want to keep it a racing car forum in name and substance also.

TACTIC: you decide that whenever someone posts a non racing car post
you will PM them and delete their post.

STRATEGY: you announce that you are creating a non racing car forum for other topics/posts and you do so. (And you still exercise tactic above when someone ignorantly, rudely or accidentally posts in the wrong forum).

[Doug_Tipple]

In a military sense "strategy" and "tactics" are commonly used as has been previously stated. However, both words have multiple meanings. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary gives one of the meanings of strategy as "the art of divising or employing plans or strategems towards a goal", whereas one of the meanings of tactics is "the art or skill of employing available means to accomplish an end". Webster's regards the two words as being synonymous, with a synonym being a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses.

[djm]

For ease of use and understanding in my own tiny head, I tend to treat "strategy" as the plan for attaining a goal, and "tactics" as the mechanics, the physical actions taken to fulfill the strategy.

djm

[Cynth]

So.....are you getting the difference ?

[djm]

Not nearly often enough.

djm

[Denny]

maybe time for a change in strategy?

[Cynth]

Oh dear . I should have said "So Dale.....are you getting the difference?"

[Joseph E. Smith]

maybe time for a change in strategy?

Only if the tatctics fail.

[Denny]

maybe time for a change in strategy?

Only if the tatctics fail.

thought he'd said that