ALIGN Phase: Aligning Your Business Systems
Strategy fails when the organization is not aligned to execute it. The ALIGN phase ensures that your structure, processes, people, culture, and measurement systems all support your strategic priorities.
Step 1: Create Gap Statements
For each of your key priorities, you need to define the gap between where you are today and where you need to be. A gap statement has two parts:
| Component | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Current State | Where you are today — be brutally honest | "Our sales cycle averages 90 days with a 20% close rate" |
| Future State | Where you need to be — be specific and measurable | "60-day sales cycle with a 35% close rate within 18 months" |
Tips for Strong Gap Statements
- Be specific. "Improve sales" is not a gap statement. Include numbers, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
- Be honest about the current state. Overstating where you are today leads to underestimating the work required.
- Make the future state achievable. Ambitious but realistic.
- Link to priorities. Every gap should connect to a specific strategic priority.
The AI will help you refine gap statements: "Your current state mentions a technology gap, but what specific capabilities are missing? Let's quantify this so the gap is actionable."
Step 2: Align Business Systems
Once you have defined the gaps, examine how four organizational systems need to change:
Structure & Process
How does your organizational structure need to change to support the strategy?
- Do you need to reorganize departments or teams?
- Are decision-making processes aligned with the new priorities?
- Do workflows need to be redesigned?
- Are there cross-functional collaboration needs that the current structure blocks?
People
What talent changes are required?
- What new skills does the organization need?
- Where are the capability gaps in your current team?
- Do you need to hire, train, or redeploy people?
- Who are the key leaders needed to drive each priority?
Culture
What behavioral and cultural shifts are needed?
- What behaviors need to start, stop, or continue?
- How do decision-making norms need to change?
- What values need to be reinforced or introduced?
- How will you manage resistance to change?
Measures & Rewards
How should you track progress and incentivize the right behaviors?
- What KPIs will track progress on each priority?
- How should compensation and recognition change?
- What milestones indicate you are on track?
- How frequently should you review progress?
Automatic Gap Tracking
When you save your gap statements, the platform automatically creates gap closure trackers for each one. These trackers appear in the Execution Dashboard and monitor your progress toward closing each gap.
Pro tip: Well-defined gap statements make execution tracking much more effective. Invest time getting them right now — it pays off throughout the EXECUTE phase.
Completing the ALIGN Phase
You are ready to move on when:
- You have gap statements for each priority
- You have addressed all four business system areas
- You have identified specific changes needed in each area
- You can see a clear path from current state to future state