Expert Ownership Podcast
Expert Ownership Podcast
Five Crucial Questions for Debriefing Success
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ever wonder why some projects succeed while others fall short? In our latest episode, we unlock the secrets to continuous improvement and success, diving into a powerful debriefing process that will transform how you and your team analyze outcomes.
Learn how asking five critical questions can help refocus on original goals, gather actionable insights, and refine future strategies.
Enjoy
Power of the Debrief
Speaker 1Okay , so today we are talking about the power of the debrief , and David and I are actually in a hotel room . As you guys know by now , all summer long we're always traveling . We're at the Gaylord in Orlando , just spoke at a financial advisory summit and Jason was horrible , but I fixed everything , so we're good to go . Now we're hitting a podcast . Yeah , now this is cool because the host actually gave us a gift last night . Now , this is cool because the host actually gave us a gift last night of two pages out of one of the original copies of the King James Version Bible in 1611 . As little gifts , that's pretty cool . That was really cool . So , anyway , but today we want to talk about the power of the debrief , and this is Jason speaking . I love reading newsletters and listening to podcasts on business and all sorts of stuff , and I read this one by a guy named Samit Dhillon and I'm like , wow , this guy has got just some really good stuff here . I want to share it with you because of how powerful it is . But five key questions that every manager , every business leader , needs to ask after he's done a project which is every single one of us , because we're faith-filled entrepreneurs and when we get to the end of a project . What we want to do is make sure that we learn everything we can from what we did , because we need to improve it for the next time . In the military , they call these after action reviews . Yes , yeah , and you just don't want to look at those and just ask whatever questions come to your mind . There's actually a science behind it , and what this guy did was he used some really good research backed questions , and there are five of them that will help you fully learn the most you can from the project that you went through and make sure that you improve it for the next time . So obviously , we learn more from an event or a project once it's over than when we're in the midst of it . But it's so easy for us to move on without meeting with our team , if you have a team , or sitting down with your own whiteboard by yourself , if you're a solopreneur , and figuring out and reflecting back on what worked and what didn't . But there's a value to do it and there's an art to do it , and that's why we want to get into these five questions . Think about how they do it in sports . You know if the Dallas Cowboys are going to play this Sunday . What are all the coaches going to do on Monday Film and what are they going to be watching ? They're going to be watching the game that they just played . Okay , why ? Because they've got to break down what worked , what didn't work and all those things . And then what else are they going to be watching ? They're going to be breaking down the other team's game film . So if they do that in sports , we've got to be able to do that in business , because we want to help you guys run faith-filled businesses . Okay , so let me give you the five questions , and if you've got anything to write with , you need to write this . If you're listening to this and you're traveling on the road , then go back but write down these five questions . Again , this guy , samit Dhillon , he came up with these questions , but they're really strong , they're really powerful . And so here's question number one , after the project .
Speaker 1Question number one what were we trying to do ? Okay , it's very simple . This is where you actually can repeat the project's goals . You can reiterate exactly what it was that you were trying to achieve . It's as simple as going over the original plan . Now , if you have a team , david and I understand this when we were building our business hot and heavy , we would bring our team in and all of us . We were like , okay , so now we know , here's how it went . What were we originally trying to do ? So what it does ? That's how it went . What were we originally trying to do ? So you , what it does ? That refocuses you . It gets you thinking back about okay , what are my original vision ? This is where the whole vision comes into play . The clearer the vision , the fewer the options , the easier the decision .
Speaker 1However , when you get into a project , in the middle of it there's a quote that says no sites . No , that says no plan survives the first sight of the enemy . Mike Tyson used to say all plans go out the door when you get punched in the face . He's got that little punch in the nose , but then , after the event , that's when you're like okay , so what was I originally planning to do ? What were we originally trying to do ? And this gets you thinking back about your original goals . Okay , so that's the first question . What were we trying to do ? Number two what happened ? It seems very simple , right , but plans don't usually end up happening .
Speaker 1As Eisenhower said , plans are useless , but planning is indispensable . So the actual , the action of meeting with your team or doing this on your own and doing an after action review . Doing a debrief like this is indispensable to your company because it's what helps you grow . It helps you grow as a person , it helps you grow your organization , it helps you grow your people and create culture . So it's okay .
Speaker 1Now , what happened ? Now what you're doing is you're using this question to find out the practicals of what happened . It's gathering the facts , all of it , okay , and and opinions too , where you've got some people on your team that might just have opinions on what they think happened , but they weren't in certain situations , they didn't have certain perspectives . But you want to get opinions and everything . But the key here with this question is capture specific instances rather than pointing fingers . So if you do have a team , it's not like oh , jane just did this . Well , you're not ready to get to that one yet . So what happened ? Okay , well , we just it didn't end up working right and and why didn't it work here ? Are you going to get to that in a second ? So you're going to capture the specific instances to find out exactly what happened .
Speaker 1Okay , now , that's . That's question number two . So , question number one what were we trying to do ? Question number two so question number one what were we trying to do ? Question number two what happened ? Question number three what can we learn from this ?
Speaker 1Learning moments are obvious . Okay , some of them are going to be obvious , like uh , the registration process took too long , um , or there wasn't enough signage at the event . You know like those are obvious . So go ahead and write all those things down , cause you want to know what . What can we learn from this ? Well , registration line can't be so long . We need multiple registration lines . Okay .
Speaker 1But then some of them are going to take a little more exploration , like why did we take so long in this project and what can we do to actually learn from exactly what happened ? So that is question number three . What can we do to actually learn from exactly what happened ? So that is question number three . What can we learn from this ? Question number four what should we do differently next time ? What should we do differently next time ? Now , this question is important because it makes learned insights stick .
Speaker 1Okay , so this puts a thought in your mind that allows you to remember it , so that when you start your next project , what can we learn differently next time . This helps us fall into a pattern of not doing things the usual way . We want to make sure that we stay away from doing things the usual way . That's why we're always asking so , what can I learn from this ? So it's what were we trying to do ? What happened ? What can we learn from this ? What should we do differently next time ? And the last question is now what ?
The Importance of Debriefing
Speaker 1Now , this is the practical stuff . What actions need to be taken ? Who should do what ? This is where you get to tasks and deadlines and where you set up accountability . Okay , now what ? Now , here's what I love about the article that he wrote . It's just so simple , it's all so simple . It's not rocket science . You're gonna have to speak a little louder into the thing because they're gonna be able to hear you . What were we trying to do ? What happened ? What can we learn from this ? What should we do differently next time ? Now , what ?
Speaker 1Now , if you're a solopreneur and you work on a project and you do one , do this by yourself . Grab a whiteboard and literally write these five questions down , and you will learn from it valuable lessons . And I love the family from OtterBox . They said that they always release their prototypes 80% complete , because they said that last 20% . They're going to be doing these debriefs and they're going to let customers give them feedback and then they're going to get their team together and they're going to say what works , what doesn't work . Okay , they're going to go through questions like this . These five questions would be fantastic for them and that's what's going to help them with the next iteration of the OtterBox . You know , one of the interesting things is that I heard a quote one time that said followers want feedback or want approval , but leaders want feedback . So just even thinking about running through this with your team or even running through this yourself , it's tough . Like Jason and I , we speak a lot . Sometimes . It's very hard for me to go back and listen to myself speak because I'm like , oh , I screwed up here or I screwed up there or whatever , and it's hard . It's hard to go back and watch a film on yourself .
Speaker 1When I was back in baseball , when I was with the Cardinals , they would have film rooms and we would go in after a game . I remember we were playing against the Cubs in big league camp back with the Cardinals and I remember my first at bat it was in the fourth inning against Eduardo Alfonseca , and I remember the first pitch Tony La Russa told me . In the batter's deck he said hey , sit dead , red 95, . Right down the pipe . And I remember thinking to myself I'm going to hit this first ball , no matter where he throws it . And so I hit it . I hit it hard but I knew my front side completely flared out . I don't want to go too deep into a swing , but anyway it wasn't a pretty swing in my opinion .
Speaker 1So after the game was over , with Mitchell Page , the hitting coach for St Louis at the time was in the film room and I walked over there and Mitchell Page was watching my swing and I was like , oh , I was so like dadgummit , I didn't want him to see that one , I wanted him to see a nice . You know , stay down on a ball , drive it over the second baseman's head , whatever . But anyway , I know that feeling of not wanting to go back and debrief , but these are the most important things , because it's so important . And so Mitchell could . He slowed my swing down and I saw my left arm coming up . My left arm should have stayed down , but my left arm was coming up on the swing . But what it did was it implanted it in my head and for the next couple seasons . That really helped me out a ton , because I thought to myself , if I get really excited and I know it's a 2-0 count or a 3-1 count I'm going to get really excited and want to hit this ball . I've got to keep my left arm in , I've got to stay down on the ball . That helped me a ton . And so these debriefs are very important and it's hard because we all want approval , but what we really need is feedback first , and we can get approval . But feedback is far more constructive .
Speaker 1And these after action reviews , these debriefs , when we simply say , hey , what were we trying to do , or what was I trying to do in that meeting with that client ? Well then , what happened ? What can I learn from what happened and what should I do differently next time ? And now , what Like ? What are my next steps ? And then put some timelines in there and then set up accountability .
Speaker 1You know , if you're a solopreneur , find somebody that you can have as a business coach or you just have a business colleague that you say , hey , here's what I'm gonna do different next time , and just having some type of accountability . But these five questions are strong . They're powerful , but these five questions are strong . They're powerful , and so , david and I obviously we love doing these short little quippy podcasts for you . We want you to get back on the road , get back to doing what God has called you to do . But I read this and wanted to make sure that I could pass it on to you . Okay , subscribe rate review . Enjoy this . Hopefully you're enjoying this and you can always reach out to us and say , hey , I want you guys to cover this . Hopefully you're enjoying this and you can always reach out to us . You can always reach out to us and say , hey , I want you guys to cover this .
Speaker 1Now our mastermind is pretty much full . We still have a couple slots September 9 , 10 and 11 for dudes only this time . So reach out , deb , at benhamcompaniescom . That's our rudimentary way of signing up . We do have a splash page , but we only send it to those that are going to go ahead and come with us . So we'll be on the lake , we're going to grill out , we've got a boat wake boat , we've got a lot of dudes coming and it's going to be really fun . We're going to spend time doing listening prayer . We're going to spend time on how to make God your business partner . We're going to do some hot seats workshop and some of your business . We're going to do some hot seats workshop and some of your business , and the most important thing , though , is the community of brothers that get to get around us . So , all right , guys , god bless you . Keep going strong . Thank you so much for listening . We'll see you next week .