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Think "and" not "versus"

What businesses can learn from a 2500-year-old Chinese military treatise.

Business tactics are quite visible. Strategy is below the surface - giving direction to and upholding tactics. 

All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

Sun Tzu • The Art of War


Both are important. Thus, the question should not be one of strategy versus tactics. Rather, it is a matter of strategy and tactics.

If you've ever done something that kept you busy but felt aimless or didn't really move the business forward as you hoped, you've probably experienced tactics without strategy.  If you've been in an organization where a lot of thinking, research, and discussion created a brilliant and perfect plan but no one acted on it, then you may have experienced strategy without tactics. Both of these scenarios can be discouraging.  One of the scenarios (usually the former) has led to frustration, exhaustion, and burnout for many small business owners.

If you have a clear goal with sound insight that delineates the path to the goal and your well-executed tactics are all aligned with that path, then you've experienced something amazing!  Congratulations.  


Think "and" not "versus"
Alan Christensen February 29, 2024
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