Once there was a time when you could experience a change and then return to a period of stability. Now, changes occur in rapid fire--one on top of another. There’s no rest and no getting ready. Hence, it’s hard for leaders to maintain perspective. To be competitive, you have to pay attention not only to what you’re doing now to perform better, but also to what you have to do tomorrow, managing the present and the future simultaneously.
A model that reflects this need is the S-shaped Sigmoid Curve. It describes a natural development process. Some call it a learning curve: people start to learn through trial and error, develop confidence, and achieve mastery. But unless they continue to renew themselves, they become bored and performance drops off. The curve experience may be compared to riding a roller coaster. As the car goes up, you enjoy the slow, steep climb. As it nears the top, you gasp in awe; and when it suddenly plunges downward, you scream. 
Many companies are experiencing the down side of the roller-coaster ride today. Having achieved mastery, they jubilantly enjoyed success--only to suddenly find themselves frantic as a sudden decline in market share or customer loyalty drops them off a cliff. Their moment of peak success, which felt so wonderful, proved to be merely the prelude to a plunge into obscurity. 
You need not wait until a crisis occurs to renew your performance. You can anticipate the dropoff before it begins and put a different plan into effect. It’s the best time to step back, contemplate your progress, and consider launching a new curve before it’s too late. 
Today’s conditions require that you improve your present process (maintaining the upward thrust of the first curve), and design for the unseen future (beginning a second curve). 
Peak performance requires working effectively on both at the same time, and learning from both. You allow the past and future to coexist in the present. Few leaders have the luxury of being able to shut down their business while they transform it--they are forced to put up with the turbulence and turmoil of life between the curves. 
It will take time for the second curve to form and the first curve to wane. So, both curves need to coexist in the same time and space. Living between these curves or waves presents leaders with the need to: 1) keep the first curve alive long enough for the second curve to form; and 2) develop the discipline to allow funds to be siphoned away from the curve they are leading (first curve) to one which they may not be leading (second curve). 
Zap the Gaps 
Few moments in the life of a leader are perfect in the sense that there are no gaps between what is and what should be. The challenge of leaders revolves around the quest to “zap the gaps”. Performance gaps are expensive. No organization can ignore gaps and survive. The leader’s job is identifying gaps and their causes, targeting those factors that cause gaps, and correcting them without jumping to solutions. The goal is to close gaps in a systematic way so that ultimately there is a positive impact on all stakeholders. 
Every manager/leader can zap the gaps and turn in a winning performance--provided the company has a sound business model and meets a real customer demand. 
I recommend a simple strategy for zapping the performance:
GAPS: Go for the “shoulds.” Analyze the “is.” Pin down the causes. Select the right solutions. 
I encourage you to use the GAPS strategy to enhance the performance of every team member. Define and align the needs of your organization--business needs, performance needs, and work environment and capability needs. Hire people whose skill sets match the needs of the company. Ensure that the roles and performance expectations are clearly understood, that team members are coached and reinforced, and that the incentives are truly motivating. 
Go for the win by zapping the gaps! 

 2012.11