I think all parties have a tendency to focus too heavily on tactics and winning seats. And I think that focus is regularly reflected in babble discussions. There are any number of discussions out there consisting primarily of people hyperventilating at the prospect of replacing the Liberals as the official opposition. If that were to actually happen, it would entail the NDP becoming a more centrist party, like the provincial NDP.
In other words, my definition of success is not an NDP government, it's a better educated, more progressive Canada. With a more politically aware populace, governments of any stripe are not going to be able to get away with the stuff Harper has been pulling.
Now certainly the 2 can go hand in hand but the tactics-focused approach isn't going to get us there.