In today’s fast-moving economy, success depends on embracing the future rather than repeating the past – taking time to extract lessons from project experience positions us as learners rather than followers.
We can establish rigid procedures for accomplishing learning, or we can formulate principles (value statements that guide and reward desired behavior) that highlight the spirit of our intentions. Having principles rather than rigid procedures allows us to adapt our process as we go and embrace new insights as they arise.
Here is a set of principles that I have harvested from working with colleagues and clients, encouraging the practice of retrospectives.
ï€ The highest-value learning results from a purposeful examination of project history by those involved.
ï€ Retrospectives are ultimately about the future, as conditioned by the past.
ï€ Safety is a mandatory pre-condition for establishing a learning environment.
ï€ Agility obliges retrospective planners to fashion each retrospective as a unique occurrence.
ï€ Retrospectives are about the human experience of working together and must embrace perceptions and feelings along with actions.
How have you organized your learning?
Posted on behalf of Ainsley Nies
