Strategy is the overarching plan or set of goals. Tactics are the specific actions or steps you undertake to accomplish your strategy.

A personal strategy might be to get into a particular career, whereas your tactics might include choosing your educational path, seeking out a helpful mentor, or distinguishing yourself from the competition.

Without a strategy, you run the risk of ambling through life, confused about your progress. Without tactics, you become dependent on pure luck to implement your strategy.

Even the most elegant, well-planned strategy is useless if we do not take thoughtful steps to achieve it. While the overall goal remains stable, the steps we take to achieve it must be flexible enough to adjust to the short-term realities of our situation.

Tactics ofte...