{"id":914,"date":"2014-10-30T15:47:59","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T22:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/?p=914"},"modified":"2025-03-04T07:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T15:55:20","slug":"strategic-tactical-and-operational-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/?p=914","title":{"rendered":"Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Roles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/STO-Large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-917\" src=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/STO-Large-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"STO-Large\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/STO-Large-300x158.jpg 300w, http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/STO-Large.jpg 917w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>When discussing organizational management, a critical aspect is the balance between Strategic, Tactical, and Operational roles and duties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Have you ever seen companies where the employees complained that:<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The directors and upper level managers keep sticking their nose in the day-to-day operations and making a mess of things.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Major processes keep getting re-defined and no one can keep up with the changes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">No one takes time to review the documented procedures, and when they show the docs to a new hire, the docs are hopelessly out of date.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All these issues are symptoms of an organization\u2019s failure to separate Strategic, Tactical, and Operational roles and duties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">First we should define what the terms Strategic, Tactical and Operational mean.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Strategic &#8211; Long term thinking. Concerned with issues and decisions that will have 2+ year window of effect.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Tactical &#8211; Medium term thinking. Focusing on issues that need attention within a 6 month to 2 year window.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">Operational &#8211; Day-to-day concerns.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Many people reverse the definition for Strategic and Tactical, but I like to remember the time I was training an ITIL class at a government organization. After discussing the ideas of Strategic and Tactical roles, one of the students raised his hand and said \u201cI have no problem remembering the order of those two terms. I was previously in the Air Force and we had similar terms, but to me they meant: Tactical &#8211; Under 10 megatons, Strategic &#8211; Anything over 10 megatons.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"134\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Role<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"135\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Duties<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Timeframe<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"128\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Title<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"109\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">% of Org<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"134\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Strategic<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"135\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Define long term goals, direction, and strategy. This is what book one of the ITIL v3 Library is focused on.<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">2+ years out with an event horizon of about 5 years.<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"128\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">CIO, CEO, CFO, etc.<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"109\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">1%<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"134\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Tactical<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"135\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Define the policies and processes that support the organizations long term strategy<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">6 months to 2 years<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"128\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Senior Director, Director, Senior Manager<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"109\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">10-19%<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"134\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Operational<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"135\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Day-to-day execution of policies and processes, typically documented in procedures<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Immediate, ever changing. What you did yesterday can change from what you will be doing tomorrow<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"128\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Line\u00a0 Managers and everyone else<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"109\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">80-90%<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Some of the most disruptive events occur because Directors and Senior Managers (who should be operating at the\u00a0 Tactical level) keep making process and policy changes at an Operational interval. A good example of this would be changing your organization\u2019s Change Management ticketing system more frequently than every 2 years. The fact that the Change process is controlled by a vendor\u2019s ticketing system makes the required organizational change overwhelming.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Here is a good example of the different roles and responsibilities at each level:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Strategic &#8211; We will have a HIPPA compliant Change Management system implemented within 3 years. The reports will be used to prove compliance with HIPPA regulations. Failure to comply with the new Change Management system will result in HR violations and potential firing.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Tactical &#8211; We will develop holistic Change Management process and policies, create a project plan to implement them, and a training plan for the appropriate employees within 2 years.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Operational &#8211; In the next 6 months, we will write the step-by-step procedures and ensure that the procedures are maintained. We will perform bi-annual training sessions for new hires or whenever there significant procedural changes. We will then execute the day-to-day procedures defined in the process.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Another concern is that you must balance the organization\u2019s talent pool amongst these three areas trying to match the 80\/20 ratio (90\/10 is even better) of non-management to management. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">I have seen companies who assumed everything would be better if you just had enough management. Here is a graph I generated from Active Directory (it is amazing the information you can pull out of AD) from a company that had more Directors\/Managers with\u00a0no direct reports than Directors\/Managers who did have direct reports:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Directors-and-Managers-without-Direct-Reports.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-921 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Directors-and-Managers-without-Direct-Reports.jpg\" alt=\"Directors and Managers without Direct Reports\" width=\"567\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Directors-and-Managers-without-Direct-Reports.jpg 567w, http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Directors-and-Managers-without-Direct-Reports-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">This imbalance was also reflected in the ratio of employees with a Director or Manager title to employees without a Director or Manager title:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Manager-to-Staff-Ratio.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-922 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Manager-to-Staff-Ratio.jpg\" alt=\"Manager to Staff Ratio\" width=\"523\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Manager-to-Staff-Ratio.jpg 523w, http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Manager-to-Staff-Ratio-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 523px) 100vw, 523px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">As you can see, almost 35% of the employees were either Tactical or Strategic. To say that this company had management difficulties would be an understatement.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The lessons to learn are:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Make sure there is a strategic vision in place that the processes and policies can be designed to support.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Don\u2019t change policies or process more frequently than every 2 years.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Tune your operational procedures as frequently as you need to, but be sure that your supporting documentation is also updated.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">Make sure you balance your roles appropriately.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When discussing organizational management, a critical aspect is the balance between Strategic, Tactical, and Operational roles and duties.\u00a0 Have you ever seen companies where the employees complained that:\u00a0 The directors and upper level managers keep sticking their nose in the day-to-day operations and making a mess of things. Major processes keep getting re-defined and no &hellip;<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/?p=914\">Read more <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/STO-small.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=914"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1579,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions\/1579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/itiltopia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}