As with so many other things, business has borrowed the concepts of "strategy" and "tactics" from military and games theory, where the two are typically regarded as discrete if interrelated topics. When business still moved at human speed, we could afford to consider them separately. In the Electronics Era, we no longer can.

We need to perceive tactics and strategy as what they truly are: points on an Execution Continuum, along with several other critical elements, that can advance from one to another so fast we rarely have time to consider them alone anymore. While they are in fact identifiably distinct factors, they're so tightly interrelated that there's no point in pursuing one without the others.

I perceive the Execution Continuum (EC) as going something like this: 

Mission/Vision ---> Goal ---> Strategy --->Tactics ---> Execution

These elements are necessary, solid, and measurable-though not always visible to the outsider. Indeed, in a competitive environment, some of these elements should remain invisible to those outside the organization. As ancient Chinese military theorist Sun-Tzu states in his classic The Art of War, "All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."

Lasting Influence

We know very little about Sun-Tzu today. He was born about 544 B.C. in the southeastern Chinese state of Wu, long before China became a single nation. He served his king as a military general and strategist, so successfully that his book has influenced Asian politics and military action for more than 2,500 years. Some observers even credit it with stimulating China's push to world power in the 21st century. As an individual, Sun-Tzu was incredibly ruthless even with his own soldiers, willing to execute officers who could not or would not train their troops to unquestionably follow their orders.

While that won't fly in the modern business world, a leader must have a complete understanding of the EC and exercise effective control over it, preferably through engaging and empowering their people in ways that assure effective strategic execution. With this in mind, let's take a closer look at the individual components of the EC, and how they all fit together.