Objectives, strategies, tactics. What’s the difference?
If you’ve reached this page, you’re likely as confused as many people have been since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. What do these over-used words mean – objectives, strategies and tactics – and what’s the difference between them?
I have some thoughts.
Objectives
Objectives are statements expressing a mission, a purpose or a standard. If articulated properly, you achieve your objectives within a defined time-frame, using the appropriate level staffing on a reasonable budget. Generally, an objective is broader than a goal. An objective may comprise several goals.
One should write objectives as SMART, a system championed by George T. Doran in his 1981 article in Management Review. Some consultants have stretched out Doran’s original system – SMAAART, for example. Ignore them, or use them with deliberate thought. That said, don’t add unnecessary complexity.
If they’re new to you, SMART stands for:
- Specific – A precise outcome
- Measurable – A defined and objective figure to demonstrate that the objective has been achieved
- Achievable – Realistic objectives, given all resources
- Relevant – Directly linked to the overall goal
- Time Specific – The expectations of when the achievement should be reached
Remember too that Objectives are different than Outcomes. Objectives are what you want. Outcomes are what you did.
Some people also write FUZZY goals, something I use often in Design Thinking. That’s a good post to come … but contact me in the meantime if you have questions about Fuzzy Goals.
Issues
Oftentimes overlooked, Issues are imperative to understand if you’re trying to achieve your objective or goal. Specifically, issues are the obstacles between the current state of affairs (“where we are today”) and the desired state of affairs (“where we want to be”). You might think of them between an Objective and and Outcome.
They’re important to articulate precisely because they focus your strategies. Issues – sometimes called Problems – should be written as a problem. For example, “Turnover” is not a problem, it’s a word. “An abnormal number of staff leaving unexpectedly” is a problem.
You can divide issues into two types: perceptual and environmental.
- Perceptual issues are what people think or believe. While perceptions are real, they are not necessarily accurate.
- Environmental issues are why an audience thinks of believes as they do. They provide background or context. Environmental issues fall into sub-categories, for example: societal, economic, situational, political, logistical or competitive.
If you’ve ever done a SWOT analysis, you understand issues can divided further into internal (inside an organization) or external (outside the organization).
Strategy
This is probably the most confusing part. How many plans have you read where an objective sounds like a strategy, or vice versa.
To make them precise, a strategy is a statement which addresses an issue. Strategies tend to do one of three things:
- They eliminate or neutralise the problem.
- They minimise the problem.
- The put the problem into context.
By removing the issue, the objectives can be achieved. You might write a strategy in a way that directly addresses the issue. Or, a group of strategies together might address a variety of issues. It can get messy after this: one issue may need to strategies to adequately address it. Or, one strategy might address multiple issues.
One thing to keep in mind: if you write a strategy in a way that directly addresses an issue, the strategy will never sound like an objective.
Tactic
A tactic is a specific step of action, planned and implemented to make a strategy operative. A few aspects will separate a strategy from a tactic.
A tactic usually has a vendor (the ‘do-er’), a budget and a time-frame. Ultimately, if you can’t determine the difference between a strategy or tactic, ask yourself this. Can you put a price tag on it? If so, you have a tactic.
Thoughts, questions or disagreements? Bring’em on! Please add your comments below.
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