In developing your strategies and tactics, you may have to write and refine the drafts several times before you are satisfied. What is global in scale to one team member may be perceived as operational to another. What seems to be a “how to do it” for you may be a “what to do” for another team member. Keep asking yourselves the question, “Is this a what or a how?” If it is a “what” item, make it a goal by revising your goal list. If it is a “how” item, then make it a strategy or a tactic.
Strategies have parts that are distinctly different from tactics. They include global focus, a wide scope, a large scale, and a long timeline. Strategies also support the vision. Tactics, on the other hand, are more targeted in focus, narrow in scope, smaller in scale, immediate in time, and support objectives. To determine whether you have written an item as a strategy or a tactic, examine how many characteristics it displays. If the bulk is in the strategic part, it is a strategy. If it falls mainly in the tactic part then it is a tactic. For example, is the focus of the potential item global in nature with wide-reaching implications and a long implementation period? If so, it would fall into the strategy column. If the item were less than global and rather limited in focus, it would become a tactic.
It is recommended that you have a central document for recording the (what) goals, their subordinate objectives, and all the tasks that have to be completed. A convenience is to have the (how) strategies and tactics recorded along with the action items. This gives you a good picture of the total requirements necessary to implement and execute the plan. To be complete, the action plan needs to include the targets you have chosen for measurement and accountability.