How Do I Get 1% Better Today?
The answer – Utilize AAR’s.
After Action Reviews were created by the Army in the 1970’s in an attempt to fix a
failing operation or repeat an unanticipated success. It is a structured review, debriefing
process. The objective is to improve individual and collective task performance by
providing immediate feedback about how the training or task could have been better.
Upon the completion of an event/task/game ask the following questions:
- What were the intended results?
- What were our actual results?
- What caused our results?
- What will we do the same next time?
- What will we do differently?
I have found that even in my line of work (and I bet yours) it is a very productive way to
get better. I have found this to be best in groups of 10-12 for football but works in a
group of 2 if its my wife and I trying to figure out something related to #TeamPerry.
It’s important to answer the questions honestly and to not judge others for their answer.
The objective is to get better and win the next time. Everyone should have a voice and
all should be heard. Try it out next time you come across a problem and see if it helps
you as much as it has helped me.
John Perry
Source: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle