'AAR' it's Christmas

It's cold, it's icy, we've had snow and the TV is full of adverts encouraging us to part with our money to buy gifts for our loved ones - yes Christmas is here once again! So as the trees go up and the fairy lights get turned and many of us take a few well deserved days off from the daily work routines how many of us will spend some time reviewing the year?
We often spend time identifying and setting goals (New Year Resolutions), identifying areas of our lives we wish to improve but tend to forget about reviewing the journey we have been on over the last 12 months.

"What's the point? It's history, in the past; I'm looking to the future now"

For me there are two very good reasons to review:

1. Recognise the successes you've had and celebrate them
2. Learn from the past to improve your chances of a more successful future

In Lean Sigma terminology we call this performing an After Action Review (AAR)

AAR's actually came from the military and were a way of learning from peoples experience and sharing the knowledge with others. So after a mission the commanders would sit down and review what was meant to happen, what actually occured and what they would do differently if they were to repeat the mission (learnings!).This would then be shared across other relevant military units.

So how do tanks & tommy guns link to my christmas tree!

The AAR format is a very simple technique to use for any kind of review, be it a project review; change implementation; coaching conversation, military exercises or reviewing progress against goals!
So what's the process............



What went well?


Start by identifying what went well - the positives. What things did you do that worked? Often this is not as easy as it looks as people naturaly tend to focus on the negatives or the things they would change. Steer away from this for now and focus time and effort in understanding the positives.
Identifying successes is important for morale and reminding us why we do what  we do but it also allows us to identify and carry on doing the things that work for us.










What didn't go so well?


The second step (and usually the easier step!) is identifying what didnt work so well. There is often a long list of things that didn't work or even things that did work but could have been better - capture them all.
This is the bit we are usually good at and the important thing here is not to dwell on the failures or short comings but instead capture them so they can be used to learn from.
It's not about blame, life always provides us with 'opportunities' to overcome (!) so there are always things we can improve upon.





What would I do differently?



The third part is then asking yourself what you would do differently if you had to do it all over again. This part should include the learnings from what didn't work but also from what did work.
Here you can map out your blue print for success.









Who do I share this with?


Finally who do you need to share this information with, who would benefit from this knowledge? Knowledge Management is an important but often overlooked activity. Rarely is success achieved on our own, often we need the help and support of others. Sharing your learnings is a great way to ensure others can benefit from your experiences and avoid making some of the mistakes you made. (How often have you heard someone say "oh yeah I did that and it didn't work for me either" - if only they'd have shared)






AAR's don't need to be formal, 'group in a room' sessions, they can just as easily be a quick 5 minute review at the end of a meeting. Often I quickly perform them at the end of a training session on a flip chart. For more complex reviews it's always good to get as many of the people who were involved so that you get a broader input and perspective.

If you need a simple template to help you with an AAR then CLICK HERE to get a simple Word template to use.


So back to Christmas. Before you start thinking about next years goals take some time out to perform an AAR of the last 12 months and your progress against this years goals. Celebrate your successes and carry on doing what works. Identify what didn't work and learn from it so that 2013 has a much better chance of being the year you achieve all your goals.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to All

Creating your successful future

As we begin a new year our thoughts often turn to looking ahead to what we want to do with the next 12 months. We may talk about New Year Resolutions, a few of us may even get to thinking about setting some goals but a few months into the year typically we are living a repeat of the previous year.

So how do we set goals that we can stick with, achieve and make a difference to our lives?

 The key element to setting goals is identifying what it is you REALLY WANT to have, be or do. If you can get excited just thinking about your goal then you are starting off on the right lines. DESIRE is the key to successfully achieving your goals. when the going gets tough, the obstacles & challenges appear it is this desire that see's you through and keeps you motivated and on track.

SMART goals dont work! It's fine for managers to use this for setting goals for staff as it ensures they are achievable & realistic and includes a timebound element thus making a performance review easier to do. However, how many of these type of goals have ever really inspired you?
Get your goals written down somewhere and make sure you keep refering to them. Also write down the benefits of achieving the goal, it really helps build desire and remind you why it's so important to achieve it. And when the obstacles appear (and they will!), remembering the benefits will provide you with the motivation you need to overcome them.

This is a really cool way to create the life you want to live rather than go with the flow or do what others expect of you.

For further info and resources check out the Newsletter and Resources links on our website

Steve D