Strategy is what you are trying to achieve and why that route will work: <em>Our strategy is to win the mid-market by being the cheapest to switch to.</em> Tactics are the individual moves that carry it out: <em>The tactic this quarter is free data migration for anyone leaving a competitor.</em> Strategy sets the destination; tactics are the steps.
The core difference
Strategy answers where are we going, and why is that the right place. Tactics answer what do we do on Tuesday. A strategy is a small number of connected choices — which market, which advantage, what to give up. Tactics are the many concrete actions that flow from those choices, and they can be swapped out without the strategy changing.
Note the grammar too: strategy is usually singular in a given context (you should have one), while tactics is usually plural (you will have dozens).
How to use each
- Strategy: Their strategy was to stay small and charge more. / The campaign had no strategy — just a lot of activity.
- Tactics: She switched tactics halfway through the negotiation. / Doorstep canvassing is a tactic, not a plan.
The test
Take the thing you are describing and ask "in order to achieve what?" If there is a bigger answer above it, you are looking at a tactic. If the answer is essentially "to win" or "to survive", you have reached the strategy.
A second test: could you replace it tomorrow without rethinking anything? If yes, it's a tactic. Strategies are expensive to change; tactics are meant to be changed.
The memory trick
Strategy chooses the hill. Tactics take the hill. If you can picture someone doing it this week with their hands, it's a tactic.
The common mistake
The usual error in business writing is calling a list of tactics a strategy. "Our strategy is to post three times a week, run a webinar and refresh the website" is not a strategy — it names activities without saying who you are trying to beat, on what basis, or what you will deliberately not do. The giveaway is that no item on the list rules anything out.
The opposite failure is real too: a strategy with no tactics attached is just a wish. "We will become the trusted brand in the sector" describes a hoped-for outcome and gives nobody a task.
The edge case
The line moves depending on where you stand. A regional manager's strategy — win back lapsed accounts in the north — is one tactic among many at head office. Both people are using the words correctly. When it matters, name the level: our strategy at country level avoids most of the arguments.
Note also the adjective forms diverge in tone: strategic often just means important or long-term in everyday office use, while tactical often carries a hint of short-term or opportunistic — a tactical price cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is "tactic" or "tactics" the right singular?
Tactic is the singular: one tactic, several tactics. Tactics is also used as a mass noun for the discipline itself, as in "he is good at tactics but blind to strategy".
Can something be both a strategy and a tactic?
Yes, at different levels of an organisation. What is a strategy for one team is often a single tactic in the plan above it, so it helps to say which level you mean.
How do I know if what I've written is actually a strategy?
Check whether it rules anything out. A real strategy names a trade-off — a market you will not chase, a customer you will not serve. If everything is still on the table, it is a list of tactics.