I recently listened to a John Maxwell “Minute with Maxwell” that started me thinking about this blog.  John’s word was “tactical, ” and he finished his minute by asking his audience what we thought the word tactical means.  After reviewing more than 50 responses to John’s inquiry, I realized that not all people define tactical as I do, including to some degree, John himself. There were an abundant variety of answers to that question.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of tactical that I prefer is: of or relating to small-scale actions serving a larger purpose.

What is your definition of tactical?

The reason I prefer this definition is that it implies thoughtfulness that focuses on something more significant than the attainment or completion of the tactic itself.  The “something greater” is a mission or vision or value.  Achieving a mission may be a lifelong journey whether in business or personally. For example, a healthcare organization may have a mission of serving all demographics of patients by providing high-quality medical care regardless of propensity to pay.  The “something greater” or mission is what I consider the “who” for the organization.  It defines, who they want to be or who they want to become.

That mission will take time to achieve and a great deal of planning to get there.  Planning begins with a “what” thought process.  This healthcare organization has defined their mission and now needs to define what that means.  It may mean better population health across the continuum of the population served.  It may also mean improving the health and longevity of chronic-disease patients with multiple morbidities. To me, that is the strategic part of the plan. To me, that is the “what” of the plan.  And then the next question arises, the “how” do they get there?

Determining how to accomplish the what of the plan requires a tactical approach that will enable the healthcare organization to achieve its desired results.   This team may implement a population health improvement program that will also need “action” that includes responsibility, accountability, and targets, including timelines.  They may have to select a population health software platform [I know, this is boring] and hire someone to run the program.  And for the chronic-disease patients, they may need to implement a chronic care management program that will enable them to provide a higher quality of care and some additional revenue for the organization to pay for the services rendered.

So how about you and me?  How does this concept apply to us?  Is this a model that is pertinent to our personal lives?  The answer is an emphatic yes!  In short, we either “prepare” or “repair” in our lives.  If anything like me, you may have done some repair work and understand what that means.  Preparing is a concept that may be foreign to some on a large scale, which is more strategic, and more familiar on a smaller level, which is tactical.  In fact, I contend that human nature is to live more tactically and less strategically.  I have seen it in businesses as well.  In fact, many companies don’t even plan or prepare.  They are pretty good at repairing so continue in that vein if they can survive. Others plan but then proceed to react versus execute the plan as if it didn’t matter in the first place.  What a waste that is!

Some of you reading this will disagree with me.  That is terrific because the purpose of every Cornerstone Moment is to get you to engage with yourselves and think about these concepts so that you can add value to your life through thoughtfulness.  But consider this as an example:  You have successfully retired or are on your way there by being wise and rigorous regarding your investments and spending.  Mission accomplished if your mission in life is to be financially successful.  What if there is more to your “who you want to become” than financial success?  How are you doing there?  Do you still have your eye on the “larger purpose”?  Is what you are doing tactically or the “how” of your life leading you closer and closer to that purpose?  If not, it is a great time of year to think about your 2018 plan. That may require some changes to your 2017 plan [if you have one] or perhaps better yet, to begin from scratch.  That is the beauty of the plan.  You can prepare as if it is day one and you can step forward and leave the past behind.  The key is knowing the “who” of your vision, mission or values and staying focused on that as you build the what, how and detailed actions to help you creep closer to your more significant purpose. It will improve your preparation work and reduce your repair work by helping you keep your mind’s eye on what is most important in your life or business.