The Off-Season Plan

For any leader, once the season is over it’s always time for reflection, re-evaluation, and reassessment. Once analyzing the “three R’s. the strategy towards improvement becomes clear. By everyone following the plan, the improvement of one comes the improvement of all. If this is true, then why do many teams or organizations take a step backward? Because most of the time, everyone thinks the same. Everyone sees the same problems and their answers become part of an echo chamber, where everyone's answers are the same. We call this building a consensus, and once the consensus is formed the plan is fully proof. or is it? When solving complex problems, it takes cognizant diversity, which most organizations dont have before assessing the 3 R’s.

This solution towards improvement is not new. In fact, in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book A Team of Rivals, Lincoln perfected cognizant diversity by hiring people who saw things differently, who were more enemies than friends, and gave him a different perspective than his own. I’m sure Lincoln would have loved to surround himself with others who shared his beliefs. However Lincoln knew the problems of the nation were immense requiring different thoughts and beliefs. He knew teams with cognitive diversity offer more innovation, ideas, which leads to better analysis which then leads to better planning. As Matthew Syed wrote about in his book ‘Rebel Ideas” The Power of Diverse Thinking. "Group wisdom emerges whenever information is dispersed among different minds."

As a leader, before making a new plan, before working on the 3 R’s, take a step back and review last year’s plan—not the results, but the formation of the plan. Instead of using the 3 R’s ask yourself did you follow the 3 C’s?.

1. Collect a diverse assortment of information, novel ideas, and experiences. Work hard to find alternative paths. Did you?

2. Capture everything curious or thought-provoking into an organized system that can be reviewed? Find

3. Contemplate your findings and take time to review the information always thinking about the impact of the decisions reached. Comtemplation requires second order thinking.

Don’t be in a rush to make the new plan because unless you think differently, the new plan will be like the old one lacking in the necessary improvement.