Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBusinessArchitect/~3/9vm8PWtuHMA/
Tactical thinking is characterized by making in-the-moment decisions without regard to the overall strategic plan. Most often, this occurs because demands of the day overwhelm the needs of the future requiring a temporary shift in prioritization. This happens in every organization on a daily basis. The key word here is “temporary”. A critical success factor for strategy realization is to ensure this in-the-moment decisioning does not become the norm. A number of factors can drive tactical thinking:
A reactive, fire-fighting culture. Culture is the biggest driver of tactical thinking. Many organizations become frustrated with strategy when strategy execution drags out and they miss targeted opportunities. They shift to problem solving mode creating short-term improvements that reinforce tactical thinking. Culture-driven tactical thinking can be a serious and difficult to solve problem. Leadership must deal with it through a sustained culture change initiative.
Lack of strategic clarity. Middle managers often make tactical decisions when they do not fully comprehend the intended strategy and its implications. I often see local functional optimization activities that eat up resources because managers are at a loss as to how to support strategic initiatives. Strategists often see these managers as renegades when the reality is the strategists have done a poor job articulating strategy in a consumable fashion.
Renegade managers. More rarely managers make tactical decisions that are counter to strategy because they do not accept the strategy and have their own agenda. This can be incredibly frustrating to strategists. It takes strong leadership to resolve this problem. When leadership is week, a small number of renegades can derail the entire strategy.
For much of what we do, tactical thinking is completely appropriate. If we take the time to analyze every single action in a strategic context we will not get much done. Tactical thinking is appropriate for:
Onetime events. If you are only going to do something once, you do not need to be as concerned about strategic alignment. A one-time event can have a strategic impact but usually not a large one.
Small investments. Many things we do only require a small investment in time and resources. There is not big loss if they are reworked later to align with strategy.
Idea testing. New ideas can support the current strategy or challenge it. Either way, they are a good thing and should be nurtured. Cutting off new ideas because they do not fit the current strategy and seem like tactical errors is a tactical error in itself.
The bottom line:_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Not all tactical thinking is bad thinking. Making tactical decisions is necessary in our day-to-day work. The key is to ensure the organization is making tactical decisions for the right reasons and a reactive culture does not develop.
Tagged: Different Thinking, Strategy 
