“A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never making a mistake as by never repeating it.”

- Christian Nevell Bovee

Repetition of the same tired mistakes can be exhausting for you as the business owner and for everyone else in your organization.  Mistakes are generally repeated because we either do not realize we are making them or we have not properly systemitized the solution so it is not used. In business, and in life, we tend to shy away from asking the right questions, both before and after, they occur.  We can combat this tendency with a simple system for preparing and debriefing with your team for client interaction and project management.

In the Army they call these Before and After-Actions Reviews (AARs and BARs) for short.  It is a dialog on what is/has happened and how to improve on strengths and overcome/repair weaknesses. Implementing this kind of system in your organization is a simple and effective way to manage expectations and results.  By debriefing company events and tracking the results over time you will be able to find the strengths and weaknesses of your team, yourself, and ultimately your company.

So want to try one? Ask these questions:

Before the Project:

1. What results do we want? How are we going to measure them?

2. What are the challenges and opportunities?

3. What do we believe our biggest difference maker is?

4. Does this project/relationship bring us closer to our mission?

5. What did we learn from similar situations?

After the Project:

1. What were our results? Did they match our intentions? Why/why not?

2. What caused the results?

3. What are our opportunities?

4. What lessons have we learned?