Vision, Strategy, and Tactics

    * Vision: What you want the organization to be; your dream.
    * Strategy: What you are going to do to achieve your vision.
    * Tactics: How you will achieve your strategy and when.

Your vision is your dream of what you want the organization to be. Your strategy is the large-scale plan you will follow to make the dream happen. Your tactics are the specific actions you will take to follow the plan. Start with the vision and work down to the tactics as you plan for your organization.
Concepts Are The Same
Whether you are planning for the entire company or just for your department the concepts are the same. Only the scale is different. You start with the vision statement (sometimes called a mission statement). When you know what the vision is you can develop a strategy to get you to the vision. When you have decided on a strategy, you can develop tactics to meet the strategy.

VisionA vision is an over-riding idea of what the organization should be. Often it reflects the dream of the founder or leader. Your company's vision could be, for example, to be "the largest retailer of automobiles in the US", "the maker of the finest chocolate candies in London", or "the management consultant of choice for non-profit organizations in the Southwest." A vision must be sufficiently clear and concise that everyone in the organization understands it and can buy into it with passion.

StrategyYour strategy is one or more plans that you will use to achieve your vision. To be "the largest retailer of automobiles in the US" you might have to decide whether it is better strategy for you to buy other retailers, try to grow a single retailer, or a combination of both. A strategy looks inward at the organization, but it also looks outward at the competition and at the environment and business climate.

To be "the management consultant of choice for non-profit organizations in the Southwest" your strategy would need to evaluate what other companies offer management consulting services in the Southwest, which of those target non-profits, and which companies could in the future begin to offer competing services. Your strategy also must determine how you will become "the consultant of choice". What will you do so that your targeted customers choose you over everyone else? Are you going to offer the lowest fees? Will you offer a guarantee? Will you hire the very best people and build a reputation for delivering the most innovative solutions?

If you decide to compete on lowest billing rates, what will you do if a competing consulting firm drops their rates below yours? If you decide to hire the best people, how will you attract them? Will you pay the highest salaries in a four-state area, give each employee an ownership position in the company, or pay annual retention bonuses? Your strategy must consider all these issues and find a solution that works AND that is true to your vision. (http://management.about.com/)