Relationship of strategies and tactics

* In The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote, "All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." Sun Tzu illustrates that while tactics are more concrete and easier to see, an overarching strategy is equally important. The question should not be strategy vs. tactics, but strategy and tactics. Think of these two techniques as two different sides of the same coin—both are necessary to achieve your goals. 
 
* In business situation:
 
If someone is trying to reach their goals solely with strategy, they won't get anywhere since tactics are the concrete action items that take you where you need to go. When a team only uses strategy, the only thing that they'll be doing is planning to achieve goals instead of doing the work that needs to be done to achieve them. 
 
On the other hand, you can't achieve your business goals on tactics alone. Tactics without strategy quickly turns into aimless work. When this is the case, people are just taking arbitrary actions with no strategic objective in place. 
 
* In chess
 
Strategy: long term plan. More abstract. 
Some elements: development, initiative, tempo, pressure, control center-square-files-diagonals etc
 
Tactic: A sequence of moves that give immediate advantage. Tactic is “short term/ more concrete”. 
Some elements: mate, capture, threat, fork, pin, back rank, discovery check, etc
 
Strategy requires thought. Tactics require observation. – Max Euwe
 
Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. 
Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do – Tartakower
 
Strategy is a piece of stone you are working on, 
and tactics is basically the instrument you use to cut the stone. 
We should see tactics as an instrument to help us to achieve what we want to achieve - Tigran Petrosian
 
If one thinks strategy as a block of marble, then tactics are the chisel with which a master operates in creating works of chess art – Tigran Petrosian
 
The ideal conduct of the game consists in the following: quick development of the pieces on favorable strategical points for an attack or for defense, envisaging that the two basic principles are time and position. Coolness in defense and determination in attack. Don't be carried away by possibilities to gain every material advantage. Create complications only in exceptional cases but don't evade them. In other words, you should be ready in every stage of the game - opening, endgame or middlegame - for a complicated or simple fight, but always striving to the latter as far as it is allowed by the two basic elements: time and position." Jose Capablanca
 
Capablanca's games generally take the following course: he begins with a series of extremely fine prophylactic maneuvers, which neutralize his opponent's attempts to complicate the game; he then proceeds, slowly but surely, to set up an attacking position. This attacking position, after a series of simplifications, is transformed into a favorable endgame, which he conducts with matchless technique." Aaron Nimzowitsch

 
* In my own experience, solving daily tactical exercise is ala building your brain-muscle. Every day you can only get better no matter how small it is. and each knowledge is put on your unconscious mind - these chess muscles is one element that you always need it in real game (beside the other important factor of course, that is: strategy / planning etc ).
 
and uniquely, one can always view tactical exercise as its complete own activity (separating from playing the complete game), due to its beauty, challenge, and its importance to keep us always in good shape (out of rusty) albeit we don't have time to play the regular competitive game for such a period of time.
 
When you are not playing game for some time, & feel rusty, then the best & most effective way to get you back to shape is NOT by starting play the serious game, but instead doing puzzle! (or could also play over the annotated game)
 
 
* and for me, it is secretly also 1 of best way to recover your confidence after you are losing a bad game during any day.
 
When I have bad day after the bad game then feel bad mood (which is very normal feeling). 
then I used to doing puzzle, & the satisfying feeling when I can solve beautiful puzzle will usually slowly restore my mood.