Strategy must be as dynamic and fluid as the environment you operate in. ‘Minding the Gap’ is a warning phrase issued to rail passengers to take caution while crossing the spatial gap between the train doorway and the station platform edge. In business, this refers to minding the gap between your vision and strategic plan, as well as your plan and operational reality. Aligning vision, goals, tactics and resources to meet ongoing changes in business is a fluid process. When it’s done well, you mature your organization and team beyond static planning events into an active strategic thinking discipline.
It is well known that while strategic plans are necessary, they are notoriously difficult to define and implement with success. There are a lot of reasons for why that happens - at the top of the list are these three things every CEO must be watching for.
Vision to Plan Disconnect
This happens when a plan’s measures are completely disconnected from vision, mission, and purpose. The goals may be meaningful and beneficial to the organization, but do not ultimately contribute to progress toward a greater vision. Vision has a very specific purpose to inspire to commitment and action toward a greater good, something bigger than the bottom line. If the vision is unclear or ill-defined it fails to cascade necessary intention throughout the organization. If the vision is compelling but is not connected to the goals of the plan, then cohesion is lacking and vision feels like lip service. Take a look at your plan from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about your organization and then ask yourself the following:
Is the vision clear? Does it speak to a greater cause, and will achieving the goals we’ve set in the plan advance that visionary cause?

Strategy and Operational Feasibility
This second gap is well recognized and almost always a hot topic of conversation during planning, yet it is rarely solved in that process and remains a key stumbling block in the successful execution of strategy for most organizations. This disconnect comes between what the plan seeks to accomplish and what the organization is actually capable of doing. This is not about stretch goals but rather an actual capability and capacity gap. This stems from overemphasizing external strategic risk/opportunity and an underemphasizing internal capacity risk. Depending on the age of the organization, this is a bit of chicken and egg – we need sales to support overhead, but without efficient infrastructure (which takes time, energy and investment) we can’t support the business. The answer plays a key role in your strategic plan. Ask your team the following questions and make sure you get reality over optimism.
Do we have the operational capacity today to execute our plan? What and when will we need to change to support the success we are pursuing?
Growth and Evolution Equilibrium
Establishing and maintaining equilibrium between growth and evolution is a serious gap and sleeper risk that it often results in a gaping hole in the plan that can have dire consequences down the road (just look at the classic case study of Kodak and its failure to embrace new technology). Growth is the heavyweight in any plan and for good reason, but riding a growth wave isn’t enough because it will crest and then fall, and we must always be looking for and prepared to catch the next wave. Evolution evokes a sense long-term, something that will happen by itself, and something that separate and apart from what we need to do today. The mistake is in failing to take an active role in the process. Evolution is made up of an infinite series of tiny adaptations, all building on each other to gain strength and resilience in perpetuity. The key is intentionality that aligns today’s adaptations with the market, your vision, and longevity of the organization. Here are the questions to ask, paying particular attention to what the organization needs internally to support the external changes that will inevitably come.
How are we evolving to meet the needs of those we serve, both in and outside the organization? Are these initiatives in alignment with our vision? How do they show up in our strategic plan?
Asking these questions on a regular basis, and ensuring that the answers clearly captured within the language of your strategy will not only help you mind the gap, but will create an agile thinking discipline to navigate the dynamic and fluid environment you operate in.

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