The Nonsense of 'Amateurs Study Tactics; Pros Talk Logistics'

And why it matters that the strategist considers everything

“Amateurs study tactics; professionals talk logistics.”

Nobody knows precisely where this expression comes from. You can imagine an origin story easily enough.

A bunker in battle. A boardroom in business. A campaign in crisis. The backdrop matters less than this: a young buck publicly talks through an organization’s problems and finishes with a flourish and an elegant idea about how they’ll fight better tomorrow. An elder looks down, nods knowingly, and says, “Son, amateurs talk tactics; professionals talk logistics.”

What nonsense. Utter rubbish. It’s like somebody’s stomach down-talking the arms for being unimportant.