A Gap is what happens when people forget to bring together and include vital parts of the whole. Companies get gaps when they fail to recognize and integrate key parts of running their organizations. This can happen with Vision, Strategy and Tactics.
Imagine you are taking a trip. Vision is the action of dreaming so clearly that you know exactly where you’re going, say San Fransisco, and recognize it clearly when you get there. Strategy plans out the big picture of how you want to get there, which highways and which bridges, and tactics deal with the actual process of getting to the destination, driving, potty breaks and getting gas. These three activities must work together for a company to live out its greatest potential and get to the final destination in a timely manner and yet are rarely used together, but why? I believe that there are three reasons for this.
The first is that Vision, Strategy and Tactical are extremely different from each other and most people gravitate towards one style or the other. Since people start companies and typically hire similar people around them that think like they do you get a company that leans primarily to one style.
The second reason is that learning to move back and forth between Vision, Strategy and Tactics is difficult. It requires learned skills and a lot of work. It also helps if you understand the purpose and language of all three types.
The Third reason is that most people understand the complexities of the way they think but believe that there isn't much to the other two. In reality, all three are complex and sophisticated in there own right. One of the biggest mistakes to avoid is to over simplify a process. We also simplify the consequences. It either works or it doesn't, we say. We believe that if we do a little vision or a little strategy then we have accomplished all we need.
The Questions:
What type of person do you tend to be? Most people are gifted towards one of the three, are you? Finally, what are your GAPS in this area and what will you do to strengthen them?
