Julie, a Facebook Fran (that’s “Friend” plus “Fan,” in case you’re curious) recently posed a juicy question:
Sinclair — can you talk a little about exactly what you mean by a strategy vs. a tactic? Are they the same thing or different?
Many a well-meaning business maven has succumbed to tactic-itis — leaning into tactics, without a visionary strategy in place — and it’s a sorry state of affairs.
Here’s the critical sequence that I share with my clients:
1. Establish your business Objective (the big, shiny, time-specific result that you want).
2. Generate multiple Strategies to support your Objectives (plans, routes, roadmaps).
3. And then! Choose appropriate Tactics to support your Strategies.
Sounds sensible, no? Sensible, indeed. But not always simple. Here’s a fanciful example, to illustrate how swiftly things can spiral out of order:
Objective: I want a herd of pet unicorns. Fourteen, to be precise. The silver kind, with golden manes. And I want them by the next full moon.
Strategy: Unicorns like to eat fresh herbs, so I’m going to surround my cottage with a mystical herb garden to attract them to my abode.
Tactic: Plant assorted herb seedlings, in concentric rings around my cottage. One ring per week, till my unicorns arrive and dance in the full moonlight. Hurrah!
When you fall victim to tactic-itis, you run around looking for seedlings and comparing mulch varieties, without knowing why, or how it fits into the big picture.
Do I need rosemary, mint, or oregano? Am I planting concentric rings starting from the inside out, or the outside in? What about lavender? Is lavender technically an herb, or a flower? And what about a vegetable garden! I remember reading that vegetables are good for … something. Hmm. Shit. What was I doing, again?
When you’re caught up in minutia and micro-actions that are supposed to support your business, but don’t — chances are, you’ve chasing after tactics without a firm grip on your objectives and strategies. And that’s backwards business building. It collapses before it even begins. And it’s exhausting.
The lesson: if you don’t have a clear set of objectives and strategies, all the tactics in the world won’t serve your goals. You’ll just get overwhelmed and annoyed, and your pet unicorns will traipse over to someone else’s cottage. Dammit!
That’s what The Jumpstart Challenge has been all about — helping you re-connect with your gifts and talents, so that you can leverage them into satisfying, vision-driven objectives. And now, you’re ready for the next leap ‘n bound.
This is a call for you to become your own strategist.
Being a strategist is not about being calculating, or ingenuine.
In truth, a strategist is a warrior of the heart — a strategist writes the path before she walks it. He sets the target before letting the arrow fly.
Tactical how-to products are useful, but they’re not a just-add-water instant MBA program, nor are they a substitute for a sound, self-designed, expert-refined strategy.
Becoming your own strategist shouldn’t feel oh-so-good every step of the way. Exciting, yes. Scary, yes. Comfortable? Probably not. But then, if ceaseless comfort was what you were after, you probably wouldn’t have bothered to go into business for yourself.
Epiphanies are swell. Passion is key. Tactics have their rightful place. But the sweet marriage of Objectives and Strategies? That’s what’ll woo your herd of pet unicorns, in the beginning – and the end.
Seriously pumped to become your own strategist? Keep it locked right here. I’m spinning out a new offering that will help you to do. just. that. And it’s coming next week. In the meantime, why don’t you take the weekend to do a tactic detox? It’ll do your business goo-ood, I promise.
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