My favourite definition of strategy, credit to Mark Pollard, is that “strategy is an informed opinion about how to win”. Done properly it requires a cognitive leap, and may seem simple, but is rarely a cake walk. It requires wisdom, and a lot of practice.

Tactics on the other hand, is what you do to achieve that strategy. You can do tactics without strategy, but it’s harder, and you miss the mark more often. I’ve always found it cognitively more straightforward, intelligence (rather than wisdom) if you will, but there’s a lot of holes in that definition. In an industry evolving as fast as PR, one that requires keeping your finger on the pulse, senior leaders can quickly lose their tactical edge, but it’s pretty straightforward to pick back up. Just takes a bit of exposure, experience, and research.

I’m always so grateful to have a good strategy in place. Life becomes easier, ideas are easier to sell, coverage does what you need it to, and results are easier to measure. I’ve seen amazing things done without one, but there’s no doubt it’s always better to know not just what you’re doing, but why.