Strategy vs. Tactics

I’ll be honest, I hate how overused the word strategy has become.

Everyone seems to have one these days: a social media strategy, email strategy, pricing strategy, or product strategy. The problem is, most of them aren’t strategies at all. They’re tactics dressed up to sound more important.

As the modern summary of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War goes:

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

The difference is simple

• Strategy – the long-term plan that defines where you’re going and how you’ll get there.

• Tactic – the short-term action: the specific steps or activities that help deliver the plan.

Strategy sits between your objectives and your tactics. It’s the bridge between ambition and execution.

Why it matters

This distinction is critical. A clear strategy keeps your team (and your spend) focused on the bigger picture. Without it, you risk being busy but not effective.

So next time someone says, “Let’s build a TikTok strategy,” remind yourself: This is actually a tactic — but does it align with our strategic plan?