Goal, Tactics, task, strategy and objective

These are perhaps the five most important elements behind a success of great Business Projects. Setting
an objective, defining a task and reaching for it using tactics and strategy collectively make a road to
reach the desired goal.
There is a faint line between goal and objective but American Heritage Talking dictionary
defines Goal and Objective in such a way. Goal is the purpose toward which an endeavor is directed
while objective is something worked toward or striven for. So at the first glance, it may seem that they
are two different words with same meaning. Let's take a closer look. Goals are milestones, significant
events towards the Vision while Objective is a specific point in a plan or a waypoint on our journey.
Objectives are a bit more specific than Goals; they are more near-term, and perhaps tactical. Objectives
are specific, require skill, and are characterized in the actual tasks we carry out in pursuit of our goals.
"Task" is also another similar term. It is a piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties. It is a
function to be performed even if it takes a form of difficult or tedious undertaking. Task in other words
is a documented form of a 'Goal' or an 'Objective'.
Oscar Wilde, one of the prominent writers, says, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are
looking at the stars." It means that no matter how reckless the societies are in which we live, some of
us do have goals.
What is a Strategy? Well, without a structure and a plan, it's not very much at all. Strategy is
an elaborate and systematic plan of action. The definition implies there is much more to it. You can see
straight away that just making a declaration isn't exactly a plan of action; you have to back it up with
some structure. Our Strategy must allow for review so as to allow for changing business patterns and
market forces. A structure is good when Visions are less likely to change than Goals, which are equally
less likely to change than our Objectives. Every time you carry out or take part in a project, ask
yourself "Does this align with our Strategy?", and see if anyone offers you documented statements and
metrics to back it up.
The actions that are actually taken to achieve objectives or part of an objective are called
tactics. Tactics are basically the military art that deals with securing objectives set by strategy,
especially the technique of deploying and directing troops, ships, and aircraft in efficient maneuvers
against an enemy. A little management may often evade resistance, which a vast force might vainly
strive to overcome. This vast force has also been given a name Tactics.
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, observed, "Perseverance and tact are the two great
qualities most valuable for all men who would mount, but especially for those who have to step out of
the crowd." He also said that without tact, you can learn nothing.
William Pitt Scargill says, "Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent is serious, sober,
grave, and respectable; tact is all that, and more, too. It is not a seventh sense, but is the life of all the
five. It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch; it is the
interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles."