--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tactics mean doing what you can with what…" description: "\"Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.\" — Saul Alinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png" --- # Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have. ![“Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png) > “Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective tactics involve using existing resources creatively to achieve goals. **In simple terms:** Use what you have wisely. Key Takeaway Leverage current assets. Themes strategy resourcefulness pragmatism Mood practical direct Type political educational When to use this quote - community organizing - business planning - emergency response Key Concepts social change political activism Questions to Reflect On - How to prioritize limited resources? - When to seek new resources? A Different Perspective Resources may be insufficient for large goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-doing-759064/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Tactics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics/) [Tactics Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics-mean-2750499/) ## Related quotes > [I have meant what I have done. Or I have often meant what I have done. Or I have sometimes meant what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-meant-what-i-have-done-or-i-have-often-meant-what-i-have-done/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Well, success does not mean doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/well-success-does-not-mean-doing-well/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [“When two people live in one place, their individual habits get amplified. For example: I'm not lazy. But I don't like to move a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/when-two-people-live-in-one-place-their-individual-habits-get/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [We can learn to be whole by saying what we mean and doing what we say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/we-can-learn-to-be-whole-by-saying-what-we-mean-and-doing-what-we-say/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“ Doing the right thing doesn't necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/doing-the-right-thing-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-doing-the-thing-that/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [“You are supposed to be ON. By ON I mean doing your very best work always. Operating at a level where you are dangerously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/detavio-samuels/you-are-supposed-to-be-on-by-on-i-mean-doing-your-very-best-work/) [Detavio Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/detavio-samuels/) > [The only way to illustrate what you mean is by doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snigger/the-only-way-to-illustrate-what-you-mean-is-by-doing-it/) [Snigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snigger/) > [I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-do-the-very-best-i-know-how-the-very-best-i-can-and-i-mean-to-keep/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Because growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/because-growing-up-means-making-tough-choices-and-doing-the-right/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [Saying that I've THOUGHT about it doesn't mean that I'm DOING it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-trebek/saying-that-i-ve-thought-about-it-doesn-t-mean-that-i-m-doing-it/) [Alex Trebek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-trebek/) > [The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-right-to-do-something-does-not-mean-that-doing-it-is-right/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“Because respect doesn’t always mean doing what is right”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/because-respect-doesn-t-always-mean-doing-what-is-right/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [Obviously it's how bad do you really want to be successful, essentially. Like, what does that really mean to you? Why are you doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-tiafoe/obviously-it-s-how-bad-do-you-really-want-to-be-successful/) [Frances Tiafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-tiafoe/) > [That doesn't mean we should be doing it, though. We should always be carving back those things that are comfortable and institutionalized but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/that-doesn-t-mean-we-should-be-doing-it-though-we-should-always-be/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [“Ever consider you're doing it wrong?" "Only every day." "Good." "What?" "No, I... That cam out wrong. I just meant that I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-thompson/ever-consider-you-re-doing-it-wrong-only-every-day-good-what-no-i/) [Kelly Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-thompson/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Doing quotes > [I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-but-i-m-damn-well-gonna-do-it/) [Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [If I'm not thinking about you then I am texting you , if I am not texting you then I am on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-m-not-thinking-about-you-then-i-am-texting-you-if-i-am-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [.\*. why u hate me..Bitches be doing the most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty/why-u-hate-me-bitches-be-doing-the-most/) [Kitty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [You can't drain the swamp, as President Trump has touted doing, without getting rid of Mitch McConnell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/you-can-t-drain-the-swamp-as-president-trump-has-touted-doing-without/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) [Browse all 10,133 Doing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Alinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-what-you-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-what-you-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/saul-alinsky-3048_doing_tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-wha_2703399.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have.” — Saul Alinsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saul Alinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tactics mean doing what you can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-what-you-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/tactics-mean-doing-what-you-can-with-what-you-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```