The Next Next Common Sense
Spinout gaps : Having no clear path forward: “Our traditional busi- ness model is failing, but we don’t see a viable alternative.” Washout gaps : Having a path that suddenly disappears: “Our patent protection expired, and competitors immediately flooded the market with alternatives.” Problematic gaps : Being forced down an undesirable path: “Regulatory changes are pushing us into compliance activities that drain resources from innovation.” By visualizing business challenges as specific types of gaps in a land- scape, leaders can develop more targeted approaches to addressing them. The gap metaphor also helps explain why similar challenges affect differ- ent organizations differently—the same gap might be a minor inconve- nience for a company with appropriate bridging resources but an existen- tial threat to one without them.
Building Bridges
The complementary metaphor to gaps is bridges—the structures that allow movement across discontinuities. In Dervin’s framework, individ- uals construct bridges based on their interpretation of the gap they face. Different types of gaps call for different bridging strategies: Decision gaps require evaluation bridges that clarify priorities and tradeoffs: “We developed a weighted scoring matrix that incorpo- rated long-term strategic considerations alongside immediate market opportunities.” Barrier gaps need circumvention bridges that find alternative routes: “Rather than fighting our legacy systems directly, we created a parallel digital infrastructure while gradually migrating functions.” Spinout gaps demand exploration bridges that identify new possibil- ities: “We established a dedicated innovation lab with freedom to experi- ment with radically different business models.”
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