A long time. More than two thousand years ago, Sun Tzu taught that strategy emerges from understanding our adversary, understanding ourselves, and understanding the terrain (where the battle will be fought).

Twenty years ago, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) resisted the word 'strategy,' which is now commonplace in NGO language and planning. Strategic planning has helped human rights organizations and other NGOs become more effective. We believe the human rights community will also benefit from incorporating 'tactics' and tactical thinking into its language.

• What we know how to do influences what we think is possible to do; the
  tactics we have available to us can determine the strategy we choose. 
• Tactics have different effects on different targets.
• Different tactics appeal to different individuals and groups.
• Tactical flexibility is a source of surprise.
• Tactics serve as a lesson about how to engage in the world.
• Tactics open
  one's eyes to possibilities.
• Tactics are training systems for engaging others in an organization's work.

Tactics consist of how to make a change, while strategy is deciding what change to make. Tactics are about 'the how,' and strategies are about 'the what.' In other words, a strategy is an approach that makes the best use of resources and other factors to secure advantage for an organization's goal. Tactics are the means for implementing strategy. It's the difference between a plan, and a way of accomplishing a plan.

A strategy answers the question "What?" What do you hope to accomplish? What is the goal? A strategy involves a gathering many ideas and making decisions toward a plan. Factors considered in developing a strategy include:

A tactic is a specific action taken to address a specific situation. A tactic is part of a specific plan or strategy. Tactics take different shapes and forms. A tactic can be as simple as wearing a particular color, or as involved as bringing formal charges against government officials in an attempt to remove them from office.