“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.”
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
The quote in the title above was written about war strategy. The reason I’m sharing it here is because, despite that, this quote should be employed in our everyday lives, including at both work and home to help reach our goals and build our leadership skills. Emphasis is on the “should” be employed.
Sun Tzu* and quotes from his book “The Art of War” are often utilized in political campaign strategic planning – again, my professional background is working in and winning political campaigns at all levels of government, but this Substack is NOT political. Far from it. Rather the information and the “strategy and tactics” will include lessons I learned and the good things (and only the good things) I have taken from my years working in politics and campaigns. Believe or not, there is a lot to be learned from winning campaigns and these lessons can help us achieve our goals and build our leadership skills.
If you look up “strategy” and “tactics” in the dictionary they are defined in miliary terms. Here is how I define them in non-military terms to help you better understand how they can help in everyday life.
Strategy: the overall plan of what you are trying to achieve, why you are trying to achieve it and an overarching statement to include metrics on how you will work towards it (What, why, and how)
Tactics: the very specific steps and action items you will take to achieve your goal (who, what, where, when, and how)
Per the original quote: to be successful, you cannot have one without the other.
First part: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.”
You have to have a plan which answers all the questions above – Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. And it must include action items to achieve the answers, otherwise your plan is just a wish.
The plan must be in writing. You can update it and revise it as necessary. In fact, you might have to whether you want to or not.
Second part: “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
If you are just doing a bunch of things without a plan or a goal in mind, you’ll be really, really, busy, but who knows if you are heading in the right direction or making any progress towards your goal.
Don’t confuse motion and progress!! Make sure you are inching forward towards your goal.
Together, the two lines, prepare you for greatness. You must have a strategy that employs tactics toward a specific goal. It works in war. It works in everyday life, and it is a direct route toward achieving your goals and building your leadership.
Author note: Next we will start focusing on specific “tactics” or “steps” or “actions” or whatever you want to call them, to build your leadership. Know that I will call them “tactics”.
I am also sharing motivational “notes” in addition to the “posts” to help encourage you on your journey, so be sure to check those out as well. Paid subscribers will get exclusive information and I’m looking into creating live events, and possible Q&As as well, where you can ask questions regarding your own professional and personal goals and leadership drives. Thank you for joining me here.
* “Sun Tzu or “Master Sun” was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771-256 BC). He is credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy.” (Source: Wikipedia)
