Tactics vs. Strategy: what’s the real difference (and why it matters)
If you’re trying to change anything—your business, your career, your health—your first point of contact with reality isn’t a strategy deck. It’s action. And action is powered by tactics: small, testable moves that meet the world where it is.
Most people talk about “strategy” like it’s the master plan you design first… and then you just execute it.
Start with tactics (real points of contact with reality), then let those tactics inform strategy, then strategy drives consistent action.
Definitions that actually hold up in real life
Tactic
A specific, testable move you can do with limited resources and clear constraints.
- Narrow, concrete, measurable
- Lives close to reality (what you can actually do from here)
- Good tactics create feedback fast
Strategy
A coherent logic for how you’ll win over time—given constraints, competitors, and tradeoffs.
- Wider, directional, integrative
- Coordinates multiple tactics into a system
- Includes choices about what you won’t do
- Exert MAXIMAL tactical pressure
Action
The daily operational layer: doing the reps, shipping the deliverable, running the campaign, lifting the weights.
Your key framework (cleaned up):
- Tactic → informs Strategy → informs Action
- Action → implies Strategy → implies Tactic
Meaning: your actions reveal what you really believe—and what your real tactic is—even if you can’t articulate it yet.
The trap: “strategy-first” as fantasy planning
1) The airport analogy problem
“Pick the destination, reverse engineer, and you’ll get there” works in airports because flights are pre-built paths.
But in life/business:
- you may not have access to that “flight”
- you may need connecting flights (intermediate moves)
- money, skill, relationships, time, health—constraints matter
So “a strategy” that ignores constraints becomes a motivational poster, not a plan.
2) The quadriplegic ballet dancer:
It’s provocative but useful: the point isn’t “limitations are everything,” it’s:
You can’t do anything you set your mind to. But you can often do something at least adjacent that gets you what you actually want. To be able to achieve your dreams, the first step is to wake up to reality!
If the deeper goal is “impact in ballet,” tactics and strategy can route around constraints (e.g., own/lead a ballet company).
Start with the tactic (because it’s your edge)
Tactics are not just “small moves.”
A good tactic can be a competitive advantage—a unique angle, position, capability, or combination that makes the rest work.
Napoleon as a case study
Napoleon wasn’t “strategy from the mountaintop.” He came up through artillery—the most effective war tool of the time—so he understood the decisive tactical leverage and could build strategy around it.
The general idea:
People who understand the decisive tactical layer can build strategies that actually cash out in the real world.
The modern twist: globalization raises the bar
Being “one in a hundred” used to be enough. Now you’re competing against the world, so you need:
- stacked differentiation (overlapping Venn diagram)
- not “I’m smart” or “I have an MBA” alone
- but MBA + domain + network + story + execution engine, etc.
Practical model: “Find your edge via self-knowledge”
Three “edge discovery” channels:
- Traits / personality (Big Five > MBTI)
You explicitly call MBTI “not helpful” and Big Five “statistically derived” and more precise because it’s dimensional (percentiles matter). - Capabilities / constraints
IQ and conscientiousness come up as examples—useful, but not destiny. - Signals from the outside
When people say “you’re in the wrong job,” or they’re surprised you can do something—those are clues you’re underutilizing a tactic.
Neuroscience-ish metaphor:
- we’re born with many connections, and development “prunes” them
- the result is a unique brain-garden
- you can sharpen what’s already there more than you can reinvent yourself from scratch
The most realistic strategy is becoming more of what you already are—on purpose.
The real difference between tactics and strategy
A tactic is a specific move you can execute and test.
A strategy is the logic that organizes tactics into a coherent approach over time.
Tactics are close to reality: tools, reps, experiments, conversations, offers.
Strategy is coordination: what you’re building, what you’re aiming at, and how the pieces fit together given your TOTAL constraints.
And action is what actually changes the world.
Why “strategy first” becomes a trap
The classic advice is: set a big goal, reverse engineer it, and execute.
That sounds good—until you realize real life isn’t an airport.
In an airport, you can often fly directly to the destination. In life and business:
- you may not have access to the path you want
- you may need intermediary steps
- you may lack resources today
- the environment changes while you plan
This is why strategy-first often turns into fantasy planning.
Start with a tactic, then let it inform strategy
A better approach is bottom-up:
- Pick one tactic you can actually do now
Something small enough to execute, but meaningful enough to create feedback. - Let the results inform your strategy
What worked? What didn’t? What did the world reward? What did it punish? - Translate the strategy into consistent action
Daily behaviors, repeated reps, operational systems.
Here’s the framework:
Tactic → informs Strategy → informs Action
And in reverse:
Action → implies Strategy → implies Tactic
If you want to know what someone’s real strategy is, don’t ask them. Look at what they do every day.
Tactics are often your true competitive advantage
The best strategies are built around leverage—something that gives you an edge.
Napoleon is a classic example: he understood artillery deeply before he became “the strategy guy.” That closeness to effective tactical leverage shaped the way he fought—and won.
In modern work, the same idea applies: the “right tactic” is often the thing that differentiates you, not the lofty goal you wrote down.
Why generic goals are dangerous
“I want to make a million dollars a year” is not a strategy.
It’s a number.
The real question is: what does that number represent? Freedom? Security? Options? Status?
If your deeper goal is freedom, you may discover you need far less money—or a different type of leverage—to get it.
Strategy doesn’t start with a number. Strategy starts with:
- constraints
- incentives
- leverage
- what’s actually available from where you stand
The modern challenge: you’re competing with the whole world
In a global economy, being “good” isn’t rare.
You don’t win with a single label:
- “I’m smart”
- “I’m bilingual”
- “I have an MBA”
Those might be ingredients, but they’re not a tactic by themselves.
A real tactic is usually a combination:
- bilingual + domain expertise of doing X
- technical fluency + extroversion applied to particular fields with high demand and low supply
- deep reading ability + synthesis + publishing cadence
- operations skill + cultural credibility + partnerships
That overlap is where differentiation happens.
How to find your tactic: “Know thyself” as strategy work
Your best tactic is often hiding inside what feels “normal” to you.
Start here:
- What do people praise you for that you don’t even notice?
- What feels easy for you but hard for others?
- What do others say you’re underutilizing?
- What environments drain you versus energize you?
- What do you keep doing even when nobody is watching?
A coach, mentor, or good colleague helps because they can see the edges you’ve normalized.
A simple example: the extroverted engineer
If you’re an extroverted engineer, sitting in a cubicle coding all day can become self-sabotage.
But that same technical fluency plus extroversion can become a powerful tactic in:
- sales engineering
- solution consulting
- customer success for technical products
- partner development in SaaS
Same person. Same base traits. Different tactic. Different strategy. Different results.
The point
If you’re serious about changing your life or your business, stop pretending strategy is a detached plan you design from a mountaintop.
Start at the point of contact.
Find a tactic that’s real, testable, and aligned with what makes you uniquely effective—then build strategy from there.
FAQ
What is the difference between tactics and strategy?
Tactics are specific actions you can execute and test. Strategy is the guiding logic that coordinates multiple tactics over time to achieve an outcome.
Should you start with strategy or tactics?
Often you should start with tactics because tactics are close to reality and generate feedback. That feedback helps you build strategy that fits your constraints and opportunities.
Why does “strategy first” fail in real life?
Because real life includes constraints—money, time, access, skill, and changing conditions. Strategy-first often assumes a path exists when it may not.
How do tactics create competitive advantage?
A strong tactic is usually a leverage point—an angle, capability, or combination that makes you meaningfully different and improves your odds of winning.
How do I find my best tactic?
Look for what you’re unusually good at, what others notice in you, and what aligns with your personality and environment. Often your best tactic is a combination of traits, skills, and experiences.
If you want help identifying your “tactic edge” and turning it into an execution plan, email me at [email protected] or book a call with me:
Related essays live under Strategy Knowledge branch. Access it here: https://gabebautista.com/essays/strategy/
