Strategy v. Tactics

 

Climb Every Mountain

Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every mountain (every mountain)
Don't you ever give up, no ohh
Climb every mountain (every mountain)
There's a brighter day on the other side
Follow every rainbow
'Till you find your dream

It is NOT winning every battle!

Winning every battle might seem like a winning strategy, but it is not.  Bad strategies include Pyrrhic victories and "Winning the battle but losing the war". Winning a battle, being a good field general, a great tactician, does not mean that you would be a good strategist.  Frank Robinson might have been a great player and great manager, but the more likely examples are Ted Williams who was a great player/tactician, but a lousy manager/strategist and Joe Torre who was a lousy player/tactician but a great coach/strategist.  Dynasties are more likely when a great player is teamed with a great coach,  e.g. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, than one without the other.

Winning every battle is a good strategy only if you prevent the other side in the battle from ever contending again.  But then you have to go all scorched earth on this, a la Rome v. Carthage. For example, while Dunkirk may have been a tactical loss for the British, destroying the British Army might have only emboldened the small ship captains who particpated in the miracle at Dunkirk and other civilians who would have ultimately defeated Hitler.  I think that this is a lesson that Vladmir Putin is learning in his ill-fated invasion of Ukraine.  The fact that the leader of Ukraine is a ordinary former TV comedian, and not a bully, only reinforces the fact that bullying/dominating alone does not always work.

Sometimes sacrificing a tactical victory is the better strategy.  In the 2004 American League Baseball Championship Series, Tim Wakefield was scheduled to be the Game 4 starting pitcher. But when Bronson Arroyo was knocked out of Game 3 after only two innings and the relievers were taking a beating in the game that the Sox would go on to lose 19-8, Wakefield sacrificed his chance to start Game 4 and volunteered to "take one for the team." He ended up pitching 3 1/3 innings in Game 3, allowing manager Terry Francona to keep the rest of the Red Sox bullpen rested. Relief pictchers Keith Foulke and Mike Timlin didn't have to pitch at all that day, and Alan Embree faced only four batters. When the next two games of the series went extra innings, it was crucial to have rested relievers, and Francona and his Red Sox teammates were quick to point out that without Wake's selfless act, the comeback would not have been possible.  In other words, Wakefield knew that a strategic series victory for the team was more important than his own tactical win in Game 4. And in doing so, he climbed the mountain and found every Red Sox fan’s dream.