Operational Strategies

The term “operational strategies” is a misnomer. It’s often incorrectly used to describe how an organization translates strategic goals into daily execution. However, it's more accurate to break it down into three distinct components:

• Strategies: Set high-level direction and alignment with business goals (e.g., aiming for ISO 27001 certification).
• Operations: Bridge strategy and execution by translating strategy into structured programs, capabilities, resource planning and processes to ensure goals are realized.
• Tactics: Concrete actions executed within operations—like daily Standardized Operating Procedures (SOPs) or executing an Incident Response Plan (IRP) to respond to an incident.

ComplianceForge wrote an excellent guide contrasting strategy, operations and tactics if you want to dive deeper into the distinctions.

In cybersecurity, operations ensure that strategic goals are not just theoretical—they're executable. Operations include:

• Designing incident response workflows
• Defining risk assessment cadences
• Selecting tooling and staffing functions
• Integrating maturity models

These actions turn strategy into a runnable, measurable program that supports organizational resilience and compliance.