Strategy vs tactics comes down to this, according to business coach Erin Andrea Kraske: strategy is your path to a destination, while sales, promotions and how-tos are tactics that serve it. She tells Jeremy Van Wert why chasing instant returns drains small businesses, and why she thinks a purpose that leaders actually live makes business easier.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Erin defines strategy as your path to a destination, and says growth, resource planning and tactics all flow from it.
- She says sales are tactical and that promotions create short spikes while conditioning customers to wait for the next discount.
- Erin believes striving toward goals can hurt mental health, because insecurity grows when you feel you are not getting there fast enough.
- She says purpose only works when the leadership team lives it, and that wellness perks do not repair a stressful culture.
- Erin sees culture as cascading from the top, and says that when a workplace will not change, the honest choices are to stay with the consequences or leave.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠStrategy vs tactics: what the difference means for a business
Erin Andrea Kraske works with small and medium-sized businesses as a business and leadership success coach. She says she is a commercial marketer with more than 20 years of experience, and that she began coaching about three years ago. Her central theory is that underneath most business struggles lies strategy, which people often confuse with tactics.
In her words, strategy is your path to a destination. It lets you build a clear road map, plan resources and find growth or new markets. Tactics and objectives sit beneath it. Erin says sales do not come from money. They come from someone choosing to buy, and getting there is a strategy question, which makes sales tactical.
She also says many people learn from best practices and how-tos, and then treat tactics as if they were strategy. Her observation is that brands are long-term thinking, built from metrics tracked over time, so it feels easier to push on conversions or launch another innovation. She says an innovation that is not strategic drains resources.
ᚢWhy instant gratification and quick ROI hurt a business
Erin says the drive for easy wins has become more visible. Businesses invest, expect an immediate return and change direction if it does not arrive. She argues this brings pressure on mental, emotional and cognitive health, and that it does not serve profitability, which she describes as a longer-term impact.
Promotions are her main example. She says constant discounts create a spike in sales, but they condition customers to look for the next discount and affect the whole category and the team. In her telling, each spike gets smaller while the resources spent to repeat it grow, so revenue falls, spending rises and the business fails.
Jeremy adds that consumers give a message only a second or two of attention. He and Erin agree the answer is meaningful investment in the brand and foundation.
ᚦWhat an effortless business means, and why striving hurts
Erin believes life and business are as effortful as we make them. When she talks about effortless, she says she means a mindset, not less ambition. She is against the idea that a purpose-driven business can skip profit; she says it must be profitable.
Her concern is how people get there. In her view, a culture of striving means living up to expectations we or our business set, and she says the stress comes from not being good enough or not reaching the goal fast enough. The alternative, she says, is stress, burnout and disengagement or a change in mindset that can ripple through a company.
She also describes teams that get tired of a leader changing direction every few weeks. Her suggestion is to commit to one change and watch what it does around you. If that kind of shift in how you lead interests you, Jeremy offers coaching and therapy for high achievers who want a plan for themselves as well as their work.
ᚨLeadership starts with how you see yourself
Erin names leadership as the third pillar of a business. When people make mistakes, they usually reach for trainings, she says, but underneath is self-concept: how we see ourselves as leaders and where our benchmark came from. If we accept ourselves, she believes it gets easier to give a team safety, trust and security, which she says shows up in motivation and engagement.
She applies the same idea to labels and roles such as founder or manager. Everyone defines them differently, and she says the meaning is our perception, not a fixed rock. Redefining a label in a way you accept, she believes, makes life more effortless because you stop living to other people's expectations.
Erin explains she prefers the word challenge to trauma, which she calls controversial and says she does not mean to offend. Her point is that people are not bound to share the destiny of a past event, and Jeremy adds that identifying strongly with a hardship can narrow a person's frame of reference.
ᚱWhy purpose has to be lived by leaders
In Erin's view, purpose is strategic and sits alongside philosophy, ethics and value proposition. She says contribution is the day-to-day expression of it. A real purpose, she believes, builds resilience, motivation and engagement, helps keep younger employees and improves brand reputation.
But she adds a condition: it does not work if the leadership team does not live it. A manifesto in a golden frame on the wall means little if the biggest person in the company does not believe it. Jeremy gives an example of firms with climate pledges that still require long commutes, and Erin mentions a gym with sugar biscuits in its meeting rooms.
Erin says the same logic applies to wellbeing programs. A session with a psychologist may help for a short while, she says, but employees return to the same environment the next day.
ᚲSpirituality as ethics in business
Jeremy says he holds an MBA, has run companies and knows that business people often want the woo out of the room. He sees purpose-driven business as linked to spirit and asks what happens when the two are divorced. You can read more about Jeremy's own business background on his site.
Erin says she is a little agnostic and that people give the word spirituality very different meanings. She prefers to define it as morality and ethics: giving, respecting and not harming other people. She points out that founders, employees, customers and partners are all human beings with worries and insecurities, not avatars, leads or servants.
Jeremy calls this spirit in action, like paying for the coffee of the person behind you.
ᚷCulture cascades from the top: when to stay and when to leave
Erin spent her career in corporate roles in England and Switzerland. She says she cared about consumers, teams and profitability but felt she did not fit, and that she left. After years of personal transformation, she says she got a download that she was going to be a coach.
She has seen culture cascade from whoever is on top. In one company, a new leader turned a great place sour, even with the same leadership training. Her conclusion is that if you cannot change a workplace and it does not work for you, you need boundaries and may need to leave. She adds that people can choose to stay, but any choice has consequences such as demotivation, damaged self-esteem or burnout.
If you are weighing that choice, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work suits you. Another place to talk it through is the Mindful Mutiny community.
Erin's views on trauma, spirituality and workplace wellbeing are her personal opinions. This episode is general discussion, not business, legal or mental health advice.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is the difference between strategy and tactics?
Erin says strategy is your path to a destination, which lets you plan resources and growth. Tactics, such as sales promotions or how-to steps, serve that strategy. She notes that people often confuse the two.
Why do sales promotions hurt a business?
Erin says constant promotions create short spikes in revenue while teaching customers to wait for the next discount. She argues the spikes shrink as the spending needed to repeat them grows.
What does an effortless business mean?
Erin describes it as a mindset, not doing less. She says it comes from living by your own rules and from letting go of thoughts that do not serve you, so you stop striving to meet expectations. She still believes the business must be profitable.
How does purpose affect a company?
Erin believes purpose builds resilience, motivation, engagement and brand reputation. She adds that it only works if the leadership team lives it.