February 2010 Deep Insights

Weaknesses are a reality of life. Everyone has them. The challenge is to know and understand our weaknesses and instead to focus on strength, making our weaknesses irrelevant. To achieve this, it is necessary to find others whose strengths are your weaknesses, to work with these people; building a team capable of perfection.

Organizations face the same dilemma, striving for growth, quality, profits and cash flow at the same time. They are often not capable of attaining their goals in all four categories unless they begin their journey focused on strengths to achieve success and put people together to make weaknesses irrelevant. They must determine strengths needed and match them against their population to identify “GAPS.” Then a hunt must begin for those strengths within the company, outside the company and in relationships within their ecology. Once identified, the bearers of these strengths are embedded into the organization to fill “GAPS,” building an asset with perfect strengths for goals that have been established.

Gap analysis provides an early advantage to those who use the tool. They maintain their focus on strengths and do not fall into weakness analysis or blaming others for their failure. Momentum builds with the positive attitude looking at what people bring to the task and what they are expected to contribute for success. Most often missing ingredients include, but are not limited to, knowledge, skill, urgency, disciplined behavior, short and long term goals and navigational measurements to tell them how they are progressing.

Forestalling failure is strength focus at its highest level. The organization becomes capable of predicting strengths needed prior to their time. Hires or trains people in advance, the “bench strength,” and or finds partners outside the organization to fill the GAP. As these strengths are added it is a wake up call to all of how easy it is to meet deadlines and goals when strengths are the focus. Skills are added just in time and are recognized as contributors to everyone’s success. Organizations create a culture of asking for and getting help in advance of “crisis.” A culture that rewards results not effort.