Strategy equals destiny!

As a consultant there are many times I find myself in a planning meeting when someone mentions "We have to have a strategy session."  I think this approach may get confusing.  It's important to clearly define the goal of each exercise lest we begin to meet for the sake of meeting with few quantifiable results.  Strategy and planning aren't exactly the same.  In fact, when you dig a little deeper you will find strategy is your destiny and planning is often meant to describe your tactics in reaching it.   Let me explain.

An organizational strategy should guide the company in what to do.  It's the "This is where we are going" statement.  In day to day operations it will guide the big brush decisions.  "We are going to move into market X or develop a new product line.  This important step is often mistaken for planning or in my terminology tactics.  Tactics are the more detailed description of how we will get there, what we will do in certain circumstances. Tactics guide us in an up close and personal way.  "We will move into market X by first launching a major media campaign, second we will secure additional retailer shelf space, and thirdly we will partner with Mad Monkey Distributors to improve our distribution channels.  We might say Generals are strategist and Captains are tacticians.


So discover or design your destiny.  Use a strategy session to discover key moves to go from the reality of today to the destiny of tomorrow.  Once you see your organization in terms of tomorrow, use tactics to plan the path you will take to get there.  In economic terms Strategy is Macro and Tactics are Micro.  As you begin your next discussions on strategy keep these definitions in mind and at all costs be prepared.