Your grand strategy seems airtight on paper. You’ve arrived at a winning aspiration. You’ve homed in on an open and attractive segment in which to play. You've identified the competitive advantages that will enable you to win in your chosen spaces. You’ve got the capabilities and systems to support your choices. But as the saying goes, no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.

Generally, that’s because multiple assumptions have been folded into your strategy—unconscious leaps of faith you’ve made in your natural enthusiasm and optimistic outlook.

If not attended to—teased out, made transparent, and tested in the real world—these leaps may indeed become the very blind spots that will put to rest your best-laid plans.

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