“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
During a change workshop I was running, we discussed the importance of taking time after a project to reflect on what worked well, and what didn’t. Lessons learned. A participant commented, “We call that ‘lessons documented’.”
Cynical, but not wrong. While almost every project I’ve worked on has run a ‘lessons learned’ recap, I’ve NEVER seen a process for embedding those learnings into future programs. Lessons learned become lessons lost.
Every meeting needs a purpose that improves the way we work. Documenting stuff is not a purpose, it’s an isolated action. Preserving knowledge is useless if it sits idle in a corporate folder.
Leaders have a role to play in pressing purpose into everything they do or are a part of.
I have two recommendations for you:
- At your next lessons learned meeting, start with the end in mind. Make it clear what will be done with the data to improve future work.
- Periodically, add ‘look back’ to your team meeting. “On this day in 1997, we implemented… How has this influenced our work today?” It’s a great way to learn from our history.
Every project and every change teaches us something. How are you turning hard-earned wisdom into daily practice?
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
