Lessons Learned in a Corporate Environment

In the summer of 2006, Jocko Willink was preparing his Navy Seal team to go out on a difficult and dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq.  As part of this preparation, he reviewed situation reports to learn more about the tactics being used by the enemy that were causing casualties, which he used to formulate a plan of execution that mitigated risks.  He briefed his team on the expected challenges, and they planned accordingly.  During the mission, the team recognized that the enemy had laid a trap for them, just as they had done in a previous event covered in their briefings.  Because of this, Jocko and his team were prepared for and able to escape the situation without harm.

I read the above story in the book “Extreme Ownership,” (which I highly recommend) written by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.  This story really struck a chord with me because it is very personal.  I was in Iraq at the same time as Jocko, in the same city.  One of my radio operator Marines was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) while on a mission in the heart of the city of Ramadi.  I’m certain that Jocko read the situation report that detailed the circumstances of his death.  I read Jocko’s story fifteen years after the event occurred.  For fifteen years I had had no idea that the situation surrounding my Marine’s death had been learned from and had enabled other lives to be saved.  This is one of the reasons I’m passionate about documenting lessons learned.  Simply put, we don’t know the full extent of how we affect those around us.  We may not get a feedback loop telling us that.  Regardless, we should try to understand what lessons can be learned from both successes and failures, document them, and share them.  Sometimes lessons learned are available, but people don’t take the time to read and understand them.  These are some ways to do a better job with lessons learned in a corporate environment.

1. Document failures and successes immediately after an event.  Explain the circumstances that led to the event.  What conditions were present throughout?  Don’t wait until the end of a project; capture lessons learned as they happen.  Reflect on and refine them at the end of the project.
2. Accountability is important.  Lessons learned should not be shifting blame.  Collect information in an unbiased way as much as possible.  Collect multiple viewpoints. 
3. Get into the habit of documenting.  Document even when the story is unflattering.  It may not feel like you’ve added value by documenting what led to a failure, but strong organizations improve future outcomes from this practice. 
4. Analyze failures and seek to find root causes.  Use tools like the five whys and fishbone diagrams to better identify causes.
5. Create a system to store and share lessons learned.
6. Read through lessons learned before embarking on new initiatives.  Talk to project teams for similar projects that were attempted in the past.  Humility is important when reading lessons learned.