Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 320 – Mind the Gap

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Recently my activities in London took me all over the city on the Underground and the train.  At every station, a familiar announcement reminded passengers: “Mind the gap”, the space between the platform and the train as one disembarks. The gap may appear small, but if we fail to notice it, we can stumble, fall, or injure ourselves.

We also need to ‘Mind the Gap’ in business. It is easy to concentrate on what is directly in front of us: receivables, payables, production targets, the daily urgency of meeting client’s needs. These are important. But while our attention is fixed on the obvious, less visible gaps may be forming around us.

Where are the gaps in your service? What is missing in your supply chain? Where is your administrative support becoming stretched too thin? Where is important information failing to move from one person or department to another?

The rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls required God’s people to recognize and close the gaps:

“The repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and the gaps were being closed.”
— Nehemiah 4:7

A wall is only as secure as its weakest opening. Most of it may be solid and well built, but one neglected breach can leave the entire city vulnerable. Businesses and organizations are much the same.

A company may have excellent products but poor customer follow-up. It may have strong sales but weak accounting controls. It may have gifted leaders but no succession plan. It may care deeply for its clients while quietly exhausting its employees. It may have ambitious plans without the systems, people, or capital needed to carry them out.

The most dangerous gaps are often not dramatic. They develop gradually: a task repeatedly postponed, a difficult conversation avoided, an employee whose concerns are never heard, a safety procedure everyone assumes someone else is following.

Eventually, someone, or something, falls through.

Seeing the gap, the missing pieces, is so very important. The great ice hockey players see the space where to shoot the puck, not the goalie. You, too, need to see the space that needs to be filled to pursue your business with excellence.

Strong business leaders like you develop a similar kind of vision. You learn to see not only what is present, but what is absent. 

But discerning the gap is only the beginning. Nehemiah did not merely inspect the broken walls and write a report. He prayed, gathered people, assigned responsibilities, and began rebuilding.

Some gaps can be closed by improving a process. Others require hiring or training someone. Some call for greater accountability. Others require listening, reconciliation, or rest.

Ask God to show you the gaps you have stopped noticing. 

Mind the gap—and, with God’s wisdom, begin to close it.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me eyes to see what is missing, not only what is immediately demanding my attention. Reveal the gaps in my business. Give me wisdom to know which gaps I should fill and which responsibilities I should entrust to others. Help me build carefully, lead faithfully, and remain firmly rooted in You.

Amen