Ever feel like you deal with the same mistakes and problems over and over again? Ever feel like you wrestle with the same decisions over and over again? Maybe even bounce back and forth between the same solutions which curiously seem to fail over and over? Such a WASTE of time.
It’s enough to drive morale and productivity into the dirt, people out the door and the bottom line into the red zone.
Much of this could be avoided with mindful preservation of institutional memory – plus an appropriate dose of gratitude.
Whether you are a team of one or many, STOP, reflect and capture key pieces of information with these 10 questions.
It is VERY hard to do this, but critical to do at least annually.
1. As stated in our Quote of the Week, begin with gratitude. Spend lots of time on this. What are all the good things that surround you and your organization? What went especially well in 2011? What did each member of your team do well in 2011?
2. What didn’t go well in 2011?
3. What big decisions were made? For what reason? Who decided? How? Why were they made?
4. What big budget “discoveries” did you make?
5. What mistakes were made and what did you learn from them?
6. What good things came from the mistakes? Another opportunity to show gratitude.
7. What is being done to prevent recurrence of these mistakes?
8. What will you do the same in 2012?
9. What will you do differently in 2012?
10. What will you STOP doing in 2012?
Set aside time for this review. Give heavy emphasis to #1. Take lots of notes. Then set them aside. But keep them close though because your brain will keep coming up with more things to add.
For an even more comprehensive preservation of memory, ask for help. Getting “the team” involved in this discussion usually results in boosts of both morale and productivity – now and later. Pose these questions to members of your team. Write answers up on the board. The more answers the better. Add to them all week. Celebrate in whatever way matches your company culture and guidelines. Pop a bottle of champagne. Pass out tootsie rolls to applaud your team for being on a roll. Or fire balls because your team is on fire.
If you are a solo practitioner, you could ask colleagues, vendors or friends to help you.
However you do it, be sure to compile your notes and keep them with other business documents that you review frequently.
Review the list with your coach at least quarterly.
Do the same with your team.
By doing so, you pave the way for a smoother ride in 2012.
* This weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. We call it a Quick List. AKA – 10 by 10 on Tuesday. 10 ( ideas or tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc) by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Click here if you’d like to see all Quick Lists created to date.
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