Productivity Coach's Corner: LEARN—and Jump Ahead of the Competition

We've all had one of those days when we leave the office and make our way home thinking, "Now, THAT was a good day." When was your last good day? And, what did you do, use, and focus on to make it that good?

Success leaves clues, and that's a fact. Fortunately, it takes just moments to reflect on a recent win or accomplishment and identify the "lessons learned." Of course, some groups and organizations regularly practice this learning and debrief tool only when things go wrong (this goes for our professional AND personal lives).

We suggest, for the next five weeks, you make the lessons learned debrief process your new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This may sound a bit like the military. Many of the departments we consult with in the U.S. Navy have set up pre- during- and post-operation checklists. It just makes sense to learn from past experiences and apply that to the next time.

People generally find that by pausing at the end of a successful program, project, or product, they take full advantage of the complete process. They turn any and everything into an opportunity to L.E.A.R.N.


L...Look with fresh eyes
E...Evaluate objective and subjective results
A...Acknowledge the wins and the losses
R...Recognize the people who made it happen
N...Next time needs—what are they and how do you get them?


L...Look with fresh eyes
Hindsight is (generally) 20/20. Because of this, we often can see project plans different after we have initiated them. Taking time—perhaps even 15 minutes—with the right people in a conference or meeting room can provide an incredible return on investment of your time and effort in terms of "in-house learning."

E...Evaluate objective and subjective results
Whenever we introduce the 15-minute debrief "concept," people at first usually say, "It's going to take much longer than 15 minutes. Our meetings always run long." Well, this new way of learning only NEEDS 15 minutes. If you go any longer than that, simply ensure learning is still going on after 900 seconds of discussion! That is, after 15 minutes, do NOT start complaining, remembering, explaining, or excusing. Those are all other forms and kinds of feedback that can take place in another meeting.

A...Acknowledge the wins and the losses
Be sure to separate the objective results ("We were under budget by 7 percent" or "We needed two extensions totaling seven extra days of work") and the subjective results ("It seems like the client is happy" or "We did a great job on that, didn't we?"). An easy way to keep this debrief process to less than 15 minutes: Give each person a note card. On side A, write down the WINS (What worked? What went well?). On side B, write down the LOSSES (What did not work? What went poorly?). Then, give each person NO MORE than one minute to read their two lists. Even with 10 people in the room, you can do this in five to seven minutes. Use the remaining time to...

R...Recognize the people who made it happen
A handwritten thank-you card, a public acknowledgement, or a small gift card to the local coffee shop goes a long way in recognizing the people on your team who continue to show up and do good work. This is an easy way to up-level the entire program/team positively, proactively, quickly, and sustainably. Quick, go find someone to thank!

N...Next time needs—what are they and how do you get them?
Of course, we're simply repeating a theme here. But this is what transformed a lesson experienced into a lesson learned. A lesson that creates change! Looking forward the next time something happens, and realizing it is possible to use the LAST time it happened to learn, grow, and get smarter, IS what training is all about.

So, continue differentiating yourselves, and know that with every project, performance, and event, you have another opportunity to L.E.A.R.N. Acknowledge your accomplishments and reflect on those things you did that worked to make it even better the next time.

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA, and Jodi Womack, MA, founded their training firm to enhance organizational performance through maximizing time, energy, focus, and technology. www.WomackCompany.com. To receive a copy of our Workplace Performance white paper, e-mail them at info@WomackCompany.com.