I have had a lot of questions regarding strategy and what it is. However, there is a perfect example that most people are actually familiar with!

The terms tactic and strategy are often confused: tactics are the actual means used to gain an objective, while strategy is the overall campaign plan, which may involve complex operational patterns, activity, and decision-making that govern tactical execution.

If you have seen Star Wars, you watched a great example of setting an objective, creating a strategy, and executing tactics that support the strategy.

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Objective:

"The Rebel’s objective is to destroy to Death Star."

Strategy:

"Take the Empire off guard by sending an absurdly small force to exploit a critical vulnerability within the Death Star’s construction."

Tactics:

"Send 3 small squadrons of x-wings. Get close to the surface of the space station and head for the exhaust port. Stay deep in the approach trench to avoid surface guns. Once the TIE fighters show up, have two x-wings flank the leader and defend against enemy fire..."

(So... when Luke shuts off his targeting computer in favor of using The Force, he was making a tactical decision. The strategy and objective were unchanged.)

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As you can see, they set an objective, made a strategy to achieve that objective, and used tactics that supported the strategy. Most people start worrying about the tactics or jumping into smaller detail activities without a strategy or even an objective!

What is your objective in your business or marketing? Now create a strategy. The tactical parts can change as needed to support the strategy. Hopefully, now you can see why having a goal or objective and strategy are very important.

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