Tactician or Strategist

A tactician is someone who masters the task at hand with a high degree of proficiency. A strategist, on the other hand, is the architect of scenarios that create more favorable outcomes. Early in my career, Cam once told me that a true strategist will always beat a tactician. At the time, I was still in the Marine Corps and a skilled operater and what he said sounded clever but abstract. Decades later, I've come to understand what he was really trying to convey. Strategy without execution is imagination. Tactics without strategy are motion without direction. The real power comes when the two operate together. In business, and particularly in sales, it’s easy to over-romanticize strategy or over-celebrate hustle. We praise the big thinkers who “see the board,” and we admire the operators who grind, execute, and get things done. But outcomes don’t come from choosing one over the other. They come from alignment. Think of strategy as vision with intention. Strategy defines the end state. It answers the question, “What does success look like, and how do we position ourselves so success is more likely?” Strategy shapes the terrain before the first move is ever made. Tactics live inside that terrain. Tactics are the specific actions taken at the right moment, in the right order, with precision. They are the phone calls, the conversations, the negotiations, the follow-ups, and the decisions made in real time. A tactician executes with skill, efficiency, and discipline—but always in the service of the greater plan In real estate, every transaction is a form of game theory. Multiple parties sit at the table, each with competing objectives. Buyers want value. Sellers want certainty and price. Agents want outcomes that allow everyone to move forward. Unlike zero-sum games, real estate requires shared wins. That’s where strategy becomes essential. The professional who wins consistently is the one who can cast a clear strategic vision—where we’re going, why it matters, and what the finish line looks like—while also breaking that vision into manageable phases. People don’t need the entire map all at once. They need confidence in the next step. This is where the tactician shines. Each phase has actions. Each action requires competence. But those actions only create leverage when they are sequenced inside a strategic framework. Being great on the phone, excellent at marketing, or skilled with tools and platforms is valuable—but only when those skills are deployed intentionally. Standalone tactics don’t punch above their weight. Strategy gives them context. Strategy turns activity into progress. The strategist sets direction. The tactician drives execution. The professional who masters both creates powerful forward movement. When vision comes first, tasks make sense. When strategy leads, tactics follow with purpose. That’s how you move from effort to outcomes—and that’s how great professionals separate themselves over time.