The
lessons learned from an activity, project or any entrepreneurship are the
documented information that reflects the positive and negative experiences of
that activity, project or entrepreneurship and includes recommendations to
improve future performance in new developments. So it is about preventing a
person or organization from repeating the same mistakes and taking advantage of
the successes achieved.
According
to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the process of Lessons Learned from
a project includes five steps: Identify the findings, Document them, Analyze
them, Record them and Take Advantage of them.
The
first step: Identifying the findings, means discovering and capturing the
facts, figures, comments, and recommendations of the project under study, which
could be valuable for future projects. This requires that the lessons learned
sessions be Prepared and Oriented or Conducted.
Preparing
the lessons learned session means identifying the participants, including the
Facilitator, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities, writing the
basic rules of the process and developing the agenda. Additionally, the
selected Facilitator must provide a summary of the project to the participants
(scope of the project, key facts, and figures, etc.) to help them be better
prepared for the sessions.
Guiding
or conducting the lessons learned session means focusing on identifying the
successes and failures of a project and obtaining recommendations to improve
performance in future projects. Here the Facilitator is the key figure, because
he or she is in charge of ensuring that all relevant issues are included in the
debate and that the process of lessons learned is fluid, in line with the basic
rules, promoting among the attendees the criticism to the facts and findings
that are identified, avoiding signaling people.
Under
this scheme, the Facilitator acts as a guiding and pivoting element of the
session, in which the listed facts and figures of the project lead to the
participants being able to identify the potential findings.
Now,
let’s imagine that the lessons learned sessions instead of starting with the
guidelines given by a guiding leader begin with a fluent narrative (the Story),
presented by the Facilitator or someone selected to do that (the Storyteller),
which describes in a pleasant way what happened in the project from the
beginning, starting with the start-up meeting of the project and from there tells
the story about how was the relationship with the client at all levels:
management, administration, planning and execution, continuing the narration
with those key events that could have impacted the course of the project and
how we reacted to them at that time, at all levels. Here the Storyteller could
open the "Story" by promoting the audience participation in the
narrative, asking for example, what other experience or relevant event
happened to us? Who were the featured characters? and what was the positive
thing that they did to solve the event, including also, in a positive way
(without signaling people) how we could have failed and how these events were
also closed.
Nick
Morgan, author of "Power Cues", points out the following: "The
facts and figures and all the rational things that we believe are important in
the business world, do not really stick in our minds at all."
In
addition, activating our memory with memories of the project's experiences
facilitates the visualization of the events under the situations experienced,
which favors the detection of findings that could otherwise be omitted. The
incidents experienced move people internally more than the evaluation of the
facts and the figures that are shown on a blackboard. Consequently, saying an incident
can be worth more than reporting facts and figures. Here is the importance of
telling the story of the project.
Then,
for an activity that is based on the review of past events like as the lessons
learned sessions, it would be useful to use any tool that allows the events
reappear as smoothly as possible. Thus, the implementation of the figure of the
Storyteller at the beginning of these sessions, who would tell the summarized
history of the project under evaluation, acquires strength in comparison with
the traditional procedure of identifying findings from a list of facts or
figures. However, it should be noted that this summary history of the project
must be effective (focused on key events) and should motivate the participants
of the lessons learned session. So, the following question arises: How to make
a summary story of the project effective and motivating?
Carolyn
O'Hara in her article "How to tell a great story" (Harvard Business
Review - July 30, 2014's edition) wrote the following:
"Stories
create sticky memories by adding emotions to things that have happened".
"We
tell our co-workers and friend stories to persuade someone to support our
project".
When
we listen to a story, our mentality changes drastically. Not only are activated
the language processing parts, but also those areas that would be used if you
were in the story yourself. Thus, "stories create sensory
experiences" (The Psychology of Stories: The Storytelling Formula Our
Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017).
"When
you listen to shocking stories, the brain can really make you develop thoughts,
opinions, and ideas that align with the person telling the story. When we tell
stories that have really influenced our way of thinking, we can also achieve
the same effect on our audience, influencing them. The brains of the narrator
and the listener can really synchronize" (The Psychology of Stories: The
Storytelling Formula Our Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017).
Then,
a motivating story could be based on the following:
•
It must be chronological. It contains a beginning and end.
•
It must say who we are, not only what we do because human relationships require
reciprocity and authenticity.
•
It must explain how the shared purpose will be fulfilled and also explain the
roles needed to fulfill it.
•
It must ensure that the figures and events that occurred are explicitly
translated into clear, simple and visual messages.
The
objective is to say something that provokes the emotional response of the
audience.
"
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."_ Maya Angelou.
Spanish version available at:
https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/08/las-lecciones-aprendidas-y-el-narrador.html
