The Gap

08.20.10

The Gap

If there is one thing I've grown to love about people it is this:  we all see the world from our own eyes.  

A handful of years ago, my wife and I attended a weekend marriage conference to strengthen our foundation in blissful joy.  We chose seats toward the back of the room (as this would allow us to step out for a glass of water or quick stretch if need be), grabbed our conference-supplied notepad and pen, and tuned our ears to the shared wisdom from a series of speakers.

Intuitively, I knew my wife would be interested in talking about the day's sessions and her noted "needs" that were identified within.  We'd retire to our hotel room, get out the notepad, and compare our notes, and open discussion on each of our "needs."

Crazy thing is... you'd think we were at two different conferences!!!

My wife wrote down what SHE needed to hear, and I wrote down what I needed to hear.  Both of us sat in the same conference, same time, same speakers, same curriculum... but picked up vastly different "take-aways."As different as our notes were, the end goal in our mind was the same for both of us... A healthy foundation in our marriage!

In business,  I refer to these "needs" as "The Gap."  Simply put, "The Gap" is the distance between where we are and where we need to be.  

Though "The Gap" looks and feels and is described different by everyone on the team who looks at it...  they share the same end goal as the common denominator.

"The Gaps" are meaningful opportunities, once identified, for an organization to use as stepping stones across the creek of prosperity.

But needs/gaps can't be identified without a few main things:

1.  An honest assessment of where you are at today

2.  A clear cut vision for where you want to be

3.  A humility and willingness to be willing to change some things to get there

3.5  A humility and willingness to allow others to disciple you through the transformation.

For my wife and I, we knew what we wanted and knew it was beyond our ability to "will it" to happen.  So, we needed the conference to catalyze change in our marriage.  We were both committed to allowing traction to take place in our marriage, through this curriculum.  We got honest with ourselves, and decided to do what we needed to do to set a strong foundation.

And so far so good!  Glory to God for that.

Where are YOU at today?

Where do NEED to be?

What's holding you back?

Who can help you get there?

 

 

Matthew 19:26 (New International Version)

 ²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."