oday, Im at my desk get-

ting things done. Im

working. Tomorrow, Im
going to an off-site workshop. Ill be
learning.
Work today, learn tomorrow, and
never the two shall meet, right? That
working and learning are two separate
activities is one of the worst miscon-
ceptions in business. In fact, this is
often an either/or propositionyou
have to stop working before you can
start learning. Sadly, many managers
reinforce this belief by isolating learn-
ing in special events instead of build-
ing it into everyday activities.
Fortunately, you can reverse this
trend in your office by following the
example of one very large organiza-
tion that is well ahead of the curve on
workplace learning: the U.S. Army. By
embedding a process known as after
action reviews (AARs), the Army
builds learning into every experience,
from conducting inventory at a base
kitchen to facing enemy fire. As Nancy
M. Dixon points out in Common
Knowledge, the practices that make
AARs effective for the Army can be
applied to any team or project.
1
AARs are elegant in their simplicity.
Each review is designed to answer
three questions:
1. What was supposed to happen?
2. What actually happened?
3. How do we account for the dif-
ference?
While those may seem like simple
questions, getting candid answers can
be a tricky and complicated process,
especially when what actually hap-
pened isnt entirely good news.
With that in mind, the Army built in
five important guidelines to guaran-
tee each AAR is an open, lively and
meaningful learning experience:
1. AARs arent special meetings. If
the Army called AARs for only
certain exercises or proj ects,
team members might suspect it
was j ust an excuse to place
blame. The routine nature of
these meetings lays those fears to
for an AAR is very straightfor-
wardjust answer three ques-
tions. Sophisticated facilitation is
not necessary.
According to Dixon, British Petro-
leum so admired this knowledge
transfer process, it incorporated the
process into its business practices, but
with a significant modification. Since
many of its projects have several dis-
tinct phases, BP holds AARs at differ-
ent steps along the critical path. A
single project might entail more than
10 AARs, all beneficial, all valuable.
Does your business routinely con-
duct assessments of completed projects
or steps? Whether you call them AARs
like the Army, reflections like Toyota,
lessons learned like Bechtel or stand-
ing meetings like Bio-Tek Instruments
(so named because everyone stands to
ensure brevity), they all serve the same
vital function of capturing and sharing
common knowledge critical to project
success. When these meetings are built
into your workday regimen, they
prove working and learning can hap-
pen at the same time.
REFERENCE
1. Nancy M. Dixon, Common Knowledge,
Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
MATTHEW MAY is a senior advisor to the
University of Toyota in Torrance, CA, and the
director of Aevitas Learning, a management
education firm in Westlake Village, CA.
rest. AARs must be a regular dis-
cipline, an integral part of all
work, to be effective.
2. Everyone involved in the action
must attend. If 10 people partici-
pate in an action, you have 10
valuable perspectives on what
happened. Mandatory attendance
for the entire team acknowledges
and respects each viewpoint,
sends a message of shared
responsibility and ensures every-
one will benefit from whatever
knowledge is gained.
3. Comments shared cannot be
used in any kind of personnel
action. If people fear recrimina-
tion for criticizing the actions of
others, or if theyre worried about
their own reputations, they may
not speak up. By guaranteeing
that whatever is said in an AAR
stays among the team, the Army
promotes the kind of candor that
allows sensitive and critical infor-
mation to flow more easily.
4. Notes taken are for the teams
use only. As with the previous
guideline, the purpose here is to
create a safe place where team
members can speak openly.
Information must be recorded to
preserve what is learned, but
each team member is assured the
notes will not be forwarded up
the chain of command.
5. AARs are facilitated by a team
member. This is one more step
toward preserving the integrity
of the team and ensuring any
airing of dirty laundry stays
among its members. The agenda
Work Learning In
by Matthew May
96
I
AUGUST 2005
I
www.asq.org
ONEGOOD
IDEA
Practices used in the
U.S. Army can be
applied to processes
in your office.
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