Idea Hamster or Detail Meister…Strategist or Tactician?

Great strategists easily think visionary thoughts; gifted tacticians effortlessly make the conceptual real. According to many schools of learning psychology, each of us are predisposed to find one easier than the other. Unfortunately, there’s a misconception prevalent in our business culture that everyone needs to become a strategist to succeed. This expectation is unrealistic and simplistic.

While being strategically inclined is valued and glamorized in the American culture, don’t fret if you’re more facile with the details. Each has an important role in getting things done.

Strategists aren’t detail meisters. Tacticians aren’t idea hamsters.

Strategists don’t focus on how, they focus on what and why. They prefer not to be preoccupied with details, freeing brain RAM for associative thinking. However, someone who contemplates the big picture often can’t see the small things without some discipline. Why do you think so many strategists are surrounded by tacticians who take care of details for them?

Imagine a ship full of strategists: everyone would have great ideas on where to go, but the boat would never leave the dock; if it did, it might leave without adequate fuel or rations for the journey. On the other hand, if the boat were full of tacticians, it would definitely leave the dock–and then wander aimlessly around a huge ocean.

A company can’t function efficiently without a healthful serving of each. As an example, InnoVision’s founder has the inherent ability to see future communication issues and challenges by scanning business cultures, publications and other resources, and assimilating what she finds into sound business strategy. She’s most effective when she partners with a few detail meisters to get those strategies implemented. The result is a highly effective team.

Why do people yearn to be strategists?

People yearn to be strategists because they perceive tacticians as less powerful and less important. Yet, think about all the highly respected professions that require someone to be highly tactical by nature. You’d want your accountant to be good with details, wouldn’t you? If she wasn’t, think how screwed up your finances might become. You’d also want your doctor to be a good tactician. If she missed a small detail during a diagnosis, it could severely affect your health. And you wouldn’t want a big-picture lawyer who gave advice such as, “You’re heading down a problematic path.” You’d probably want to know exactly what activities or issues were problematic, and get the details of how to adjust your course to avoid legal trouble.

Some people also equate strategic thinking with leadership and seniority, and this is somewhat true. Obviously those skills are important and relevant, but they’re also quite rare. After all, where would Microsoft be if there weren’t tacticians to implement the vision? It takes both vision and implementation to make a Body Shop or an Apple Computer anything more than a garage hobby.

In the end, it takes a bigger ratio of tacticians to keep even the smallest ventures running smoothly, and a small contingent of strategists to ensure that the work has some context and meaning in the larger scheme of things.

What can you do to expand your perspective?

At professional associations, casual lunches and in business journals, we see and hear laments from tacticians who don’t know where to start to become more strategic. Below are several practical activities that will help open your mind toward the ‘bigger picture.’