Strategy vs. Tactics: Does your company let the tail wag the dog?

photo: bsabarnowl

I was visiting a client last week and one of the folks asked me about secrets to getting to the top of Google search. He then wanted to know about going viral on Youtube. Then everyone started chiming in. They wanted to know the tactics. These days a lot of companies get wrapped up in the tactics. With all of the social media buzz (pun intended) going on, it is easy for organizations to be driven by a set of maneuvers. They hope these will act like Spanish flies, seducing new customers into following them on twitter and handing over their wallets.

Don’t let the tail wag the dog.

A better philosophy is to be strategy driven, provided it’s focused on the end goal (awareness, acquisition, retention, etc). Developing the right strategy will incorporate the right set of plays, or tactics, that achieve the right connections which move a company towards success. Kat French said it this way in a recent post on the Social Enthusiast, “The important thing to remember is to begin with the end in mind. Plant your efforts firmly in the ground best suited to produce the harvest you’ve set as a goal.”

What if we:

approached things with a clearly defined goal

watched and listened for clues that would highlight potential paths to reach those goals

chose the best tools and courses of action to meet objectives

Breakthrough in your business comes when you create the right strategy and implement right tactics.

Your thoughts?

http://www.medicalassistantcoach.com/ medical assistant

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
http://davidhorne.me David Horne

Very good Akash. I love your perspective. Collective responsibility does lend to putting it all together. Thanks for stopping by.
http://www.ubermarketing.wordpress.com Akash Sharma

Refined thoughts yet again, If we relate this to a game we can make a better decision, say football, it’s a team game and apart from the values like team-work, hard work e.t.c. another very important thing is strategy i.e by knowing your rivals, if you follow the strategy then the players can use the tactics which involve their skills.
In businesses every department plays a key role now, so its very important to keep all of them in a centric plan and get equipped with some skills like social understanding to get on with the tactics…..Thanks for sharing you thoughts.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Does Your Company Let The Tail Wag The Dog?