How A Gap Analysis Can Pinpoint Danger Signs in Your Business Growth

See how a Gap analysis for your business can pinpoint any danger signs that could hinder the growth or even stability of a company.

Even the most knowledgeable CEOs and business owners are sometimes slow to realize when there’s a gap between how they perceive their business and its actual performance. This may be particularly common when these leaders have promoted an internal culture where bad news isn’t welcomed, and C-suite executives and others are reluctant to share critical insights of any kind.

But this is not a situation where “no news is good news.” A significant difference between a company’s performance and what it aims to achieve should never go unnoticed, especially when it involves plans for business growth, operations, production, the allocation of resources, etc.

Gap Analysis vs SWOT Analysis

The process of assessing performance vs. expectations is known as a Gap analysis. It differs from the somewhat similar SWOT analysis in these ways:

• SWOT analysis gauges a business against its peers and competitors; a Gap analysis reviews internal processes to identify deficits.
• SWOT analysis is conducted as part a long-range planning process; GAP analysis is more often performed for short-term objectives.
• SWOT analysis generally takes a broad-based approach, covering a wide range of factors; Gap analysis can focus on addressing specific business issues.

Who conducts a Gap Analysis?

There’s plenty of information available online on how to conduct a Gap analysis of your own business. But in my experience, that’s not the best approach to the problem.

Inevitably, the attempt to “self-analyze” business operations clashes with ingrained perspectives of how the organization functions (i.e., “We’ve already tried that solution and it doesn’t work”), as well as inherent limitations common to any business culture.

If ever there was a situation where an objective and knowledgeable third party is needed, this is it.

A business coach or consultant who’s “been there and done that” is the best choice for performing a focused, effective Gap analysis. This individual should come with extensive experience in either running his or her own business, or a proven track record of analyzing operations at companies of different sizes.

Business coaching can identify gaps and deficiencies in many areas, including:

• Current operational processes
• Levels of profitability
• Timing of J Curve
• Business development
• Sales processes
• Leadership issues
• Capitalization and funding

At Catapult Groups, we rigorously analyze your business plan and operations and see things you haven’t seen yourself.

Our job is not to dictate what your vision is, but to share ideas and suggestions to help you attain that vision. We apply knowledge and best practices to:

1. Identify where your business is on the continuum between present reality and future vision.
2. Challenge you to consider new possibilities that can dramatically improve the state of your business and trigger new growth in the months and years ahead.

Catapult Groups invites you to contact us for a free business gap analysis regarding areas of concern and opportunity in your business. If we’re not the right fit for your business, we’ll tell you. But if we believe we can help, our commitment to improving your business and identifying gaps in performance will result in benefits you may not have imagined possible before.