10 things you need to know about lessons learned

1.      They can be drawn from both positive and negative experiences.
2.      Lessons can prepare us better next time round, like friendly advice.
3.      However, they can also ensure next time is different, if we use them to change things.
4.      Lessons require us to compare our expectation with what actually happened.
5.      The key is to explore the difference and ask, “Why?”
6.      We keep asking “Why?” until we get to a root cause.
7.      Or there may be a number of contributory factors.
8.      If our recommendations address these, things might change for the better.
9.      We also need to quantify the lessons’ potential impact (i.e. cost, time, safety, morale etc.).
10.   Otherwise all lessons become equally urgent, meaning they’re equally unimportant as well.

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