y along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half o

From time to time there seems to be a flurry of studies and surveys on effective communication in the workplace. As a communication specialist, I'm always eager to read these studies, but am often disappointed with what I see. That's because they all seem to be about communication strategy.

• We must put in place strategies to get our message out to our various publics.

• We must have a communication strategy so that our image and reputation will be disseminated in the way we want it.

It all sounds so one-sided, and even worse, so one-dimensional.

According to my Oxford Dictionary, "strategy" is a military term defined as "generalship, the art of war; management of an army or armies in a campaign; art of so moving or disposing troops or ships as to impose upon the enemy the place and time and conditions for fighting preferred by oneself."

That's all very well as far as it goes, but there are two problems. First, if your soldiers don't have the necessary skills to move the army along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half o

em to be about communication strategy.

• We must put in place strategies to get our message out to our various publics.

• We must have a communication strategy so that our image and reputation will be disseminated in the way we want it.

It all sounds so one-sided, and even worse, so one-dimensional.

According to my Oxford Dictionary, "strategy" is a military term defined as "generalship, the art of war; management of an army or armies in a campaign; art of so moving or disposing troops or ships as to impose upon the enemy the place and time and conditions for fighting preferred by oneself."

That's all very well as far as it goes, but there are two problems. First, if your soldiers don't have the necessary skills to move the army along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half o

all sounds so one-sided, and even worse, so one-dimensional.

According to my Oxford Dictionary, "strategy" is a military term defined as "generalship, the art of war; management of an army or armies in a campaign; art of so moving or disposing troops or ships as to impose upon the enemy the place and time and conditions for fighting preferred by oneself."

That's all very well as far as it goes, but there are two problems. First, if your soldiers don't have the necessary skills to move the army along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half o

ps or ships as to impose upon the enemy the place and time and conditions for fighting preferred by oneself."

That's all very well as far as it goes, but there are two problems. First, if your soldiers don't have the necessary skills to move the army along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half o

y along, they will never reach the strategic position in the first place. Second, if they don't have the appropriate fighting skills, they won't know what to do once they are in position.

In order to make use of a strategy, you need the other half of the equation: tactics. The same dictionary defines "tactics" as "the art of disposing military or naval forces in actual contact with the enemy". In other words, once your strategy is in place, you must use tactics that will convert your plan into results.

In today's complex, many-faceted workplace, too many laudable communication strategies fail, or at least achieve limited success, because of lack of attention to tactics. By tactics, I mean the way we use applied communication every day to get the work done. As I often tell my audiences, this is not about a system—it's about the skills of those using the system. If the soldiers are not trained in the skills they need to get to the place of engagement as well as to fight the battle, then where is the value of a strategy?

In workplace terms, if employees at all levels don't have the skills to transfer information through presentations, through person-to-person discussion at meetings, through articulate discussion with the media, throu