Strategy is all about competition, says Jack Trout, in his book, Trout on Strategy. He says better people and better products are not viable strategies: Statistically, it is impossible for one large company to have better people than another company - as proven by the distribution curve. As for better products, do better products always win? Think Windows vs. MacIntosh, Betamax vs. VHS . . .
Jack recommends that we know our competition, avoid their strengths, and exploit their weaknesses. From there, we develop our strategy based on tactics. Tactics are ideas that allow your company to be different, and are always "bottom-up", never "top-down"
A tactic must have a competitive angle in order to have a chance of success. This does not necessarily mean a better product or service, but rather there must be an element of differentness. It could be smaller, bigger, lighter, heavier, cheaper, or more expensive. It could be a different distribution system.
Once you're determined your tactic, wrap the strategy around it. Strategy is coherent, and includes all aspects of your business, including marketing, finance and operations.
Many entrepreneurs have told me that their only problem is not being able to raise money, to which I reply, "What would you be able to achieve if you had $1,000,000?". It's a tough question to answer, because they have not determined what their company tactic is. (yes, that's a singular tactic, as Trout says you should only have one to maintain focus).
Most people think that this is a use of proceeds questions, and sometimes, it is. However, what I would like to hear is how the entrepreneur is going to take that $1,000,000 and convert it into more than a million.
The question really drives at whether your strategy & tactic provides the risk reduction and predictability that a good company should. For instance, when you invest in a bank, you expect them to charge service fees to make money. Their marketing department understands exactly how much money to spend on capturing a new customer, and how much that customer will spend, on average, over a lifetime. Having a solid customer acquisition cost model and predictable RPU (Revenue Per User) gives you the ability to predict how you're going to convert the $1 invested into something more than $1.
I've got a pile of new books this weekend, received as gifts for my 40th b-day. My sister gave me a copy of 
