In this episode of Gap Cognition: Business by Design, we unpack one of the most common — and costly — challenges in modern organisations: the gap between strategy and execution.

You’ll often hear that brilliant strategies fail not because they’re wrong, but because they never land. They sit on PowerPoint slides, beautifully articulated but disconnected from day-to-day behaviour. In this conversation, we explore why strategy only works when culture carries it — and how leaders can intentionally build that bridge.

At Gap Cognition, we call this the 90% Gap: the difference between what’s decided in the boardroom and what actually happens on the ground. It’s the gap between intention and action, between knowing and doing. Closing that gap requires more than communication — it demands a shift in behaviour, habit, and mindset.

Drawing on the science of behaviour and organisational psychology, this episode explores how culture becomes the delivery system for strategy. When people understand not just what to do, but why it matters, strategy stops being a top-down directive and becomes a shared way of working.

💬 In this episode, we discuss:

• Why up to 90% of strategies fail to fully execute — and what the missing link really is.
• How culture translates strategy into daily habits, decisions, and performance outcomes.
• The three pillars of Gap Cognition’s framework:
  1. Performance Management — embedding accountability, clarity, and measurable success.
  2. Change Management & Communication — aligning people through transparent dialogue and engagement.
  3. Executive & Career Coaching — building leadership and individual growth capacity to sustain results.
• How behavioural science accelerates culture alignment and drives long-term ROI.
• Why meaningful behaviour change is faster and more sustainable when rooted in data and insight.

🧠 The Core Message

A business’s true competitive advantage lies not in its strategy document, but in its people — and the habits they live out daily. The companies that win are those that design cultures capable of carrying their strategy, even when no one’s watching.

This episode breaks down the psychology of alignment — how intentional design turns abstract strategy into consistent action, and how culture becomes the invisible engine behind performance.

⚙️ Who This Episode Is For

• Leaders and executives wanting to move their strategic plans from slides to reality.
• HR and culture professionals looking to embed change and improve employee buy-in.
• Coaches and consultants interested in blending behavioural science with performance frameworks.
• Entrepreneurs and business owners aiming to scale sustainably without losing alignment or culture.

If you’re tired of seeing brilliant ideas stall after the strategy workshop, this episode will help you understand what’s missing — and how to close the 90% gap for good.

💡 Takeaway

Strategy doesn’t fail in the planning. It fails in the behaviour that follows.
When leaders design culture as the operating system of their strategy, alignment stops being a buzzword and becomes a business advantage.

🎧 Listen to “Closing the 90% Gap: How Culture Carries Strategy to Success” — and discover how to embed your strategy into the habits, systems, and culture that define long-term performance.

Follow Gap Cognition: Business by Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen — and start designing your business to work by design, not by default.

INTRODUCTION TO GAP COGNITION

www.Gapcognition.com