Strategy Vs Tactics: How To Set & Achieve Them Both

In project management, there are two key terms that are often used interchangeably, seeming like asinine office jargon. But their very distinct meanings can actually make or break your business plan. Those two words are strategy and tactics. Understanding the difference between these two concepts is crucial for project managers and team members, as it can impact the success of a project. So what’s the difference – and how do you track each one?

What is a “strategy”?

“Strategy” refers to an organization or project team’s overall plan of action to achieve a specific goal or objective. A strategy outlines a specific direction the team needs to take to reach their desired outcome. It is a high-level view of how the project will be executed and what resources will be required.

For example, a company that wants to increase its market share may develop a strategy that includes expanding into new markets, innovating new products, and improving customer service – or even launching a demo option, like Hive has. This strategy will guide the company’s decisions and actions in the immediate future until the coal is accomplished, as well as the allocation of resources.

What are “tactics”?

Tactics, on the other hand, are specific actions that are taken to implement the strategy. They are the practical steps that are taken to achieve the goals outlined in the strategy; the day-to-day activities that the team members carry out to move the project forward.

Using the same example as above, the tactics that the company might employ to expand into new markets could include conducting market research, identifying potential customers, developing marketing materials, and establishing partnerships with local distributors.

How to tackle your strategies and tactics

Setting out a strategy and listing tactics isn’t the end of your team’s journey – in fact, it’s only the beginning. The goals you make to achieve these things need consistent monitoring and tweaking in order to succeed to their fullest potential. By tapping into Hive’s tools, teams can leverage technologies in a centralized platform to collaborate and communicate as thoroughly as possible so their tactics are clear and their strategies succeed.

1. Tracking strategies

Once you have a strategy in mind, try making a high-level project plan that outlines the overall north star of the project. This plan should include the project’s goals, objectives, and key milestones. Integrations are also extremely helpful at a time like this; Hive’s Gantt chart feature helps visualize project timelines and really see how close you are to milestones in a pictographic format that’s easy to follow.

To ensure that your project’s strategy is effective, you should regularly review and evaluate it. Hive’s goals feature can help you keep an eye on how your strategies are coming along and how your objectives can be or have been reached. Goals can even be separated into action and value goals so teams know exactly what they’re working towards. Then, as the strategy progresses, it can be adjusted if things aren’t going to plan.

2. Taking stock of tactics

To ensure that you’re approaching your tactics in the most efficient manner possible, create a task list that outlines whatever specific actions need to be taken to achieve the project’s goals. You can break down the tasks into smaller, more manageable sub-tasks and assign them to team members (using Hive’s task management feature). You can also use Hive’s collaboration tools, such as comments and mentions, to keep everyone on the same page.

Hive also offers a range of integrations with other tools, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Trello, which can help you manage your project’s tactics without skipping a beat (and without vital documents getting lost in the fray). For example, you can use the Google Drive integration to share documents and collaborate on them in real-time while you’re in the Hive app.

Lastly, to properly allocate resources for reassessing and checking in on your tactics, track how much time your team spends on each project feature to identify potential bottlenecks. Then, adjust the team’s workload accordingly – or pivot and switch up your tactics.

3. Aligning strategy and tactics to achieve success

Your strategy and tactics should be consciously aligned at all times – and with reporting features and team analytics, you can check in on your team’s synergy and performance as your strategy progresses. You can also use Hive’s customizable dashboards to visualize the data and get a real-time view of how the project is progressing.

In addition, Hive’s specialized reporting feature can help you identify risks that may impact the project’s success before they even happen. You can use this information to make adjustments to either your strategy or tactics. However, changing tactics should always come before changing strategy, as altering your entire strategy should only be a last resort unless data indicates otherwise.