The other good thing about this book was the way it delineates and explains strategy vs. tactics. These terms are thrown around a lot, but it's not always clear exactly what they mean.

The authors point out that strategy follows tactics in the same way that form follows functions. That is, "the achievement of tactical results is the ulitmate and only goal of a strategy....strategy should be developed from the bottom up, not the top down."

They continue..."while strategy evolves from an intimate understanding of tactics, the paradox is that good strategy doesn't depend on superlative tactics. The essence of a sound strategy is to be able to win the marketing war without tactical brilliance."

"At any given point in time, one objective should dominate a company's strategic plans."

Another good point they mention is that "Action is not independent of strategy...the action IS the strategy."

The last mistake that many companies make is trying to divorce strategy from tactics. They say it cannot be done because the strategy implies the tactics. For example, they say that once Miller Brewing company decides to have Miller High Life and Miller Genuine Draft, that they then force the advertising agency's hand in terms of how they will build each brand, without any consideration given to the fact that building two brands is more difficult than building one.