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Key benefits

Gain insight into the fundamental concepts of AAR

Explore both informal and formal AAR approaches

Discover and apply the Listening Ladder technique

Description

Even if we're not consciously aware of it, we're constantly seeking improvement. This continual quest for improvement begins when you start differentiating between "what was" and "what could be." Through this book, you’ll learn how to apply both informal and formal continuous improvement approaches to reflect upon and analyze your individual work or the work of your team. The book begins by covering the basic facilitation skills that you'll need to conduct an AAR. These skills include active listening, questioning, information gathering and analysis, managing group dynamics, and more. You'll dive deep into the AAR technique and explore all its aspects in detail including its value proposition and frameworks. As you progress through the book, you'll explore the informal and formal approaches to AAR and understand the situations where each can be used. By the end of the book, you’ll be able to apply this technique and its fundamentals to assess the improve the outcome of your project you undertake or a life event.

What you will learn

Discover and apply the skills essential to a facilitator

Study Osborn’s four general rules of brainstorming

Understand the three stages of the AAR framework

Study the root cause analysis technique and its applications

Use the Group Dynamics guide to deal with common issues of people

Understand and learn how to apply the facilitator’s mantra

What do you get with eBook?

Instant access to your Digital eBook purchase

Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

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Dr. Edward M.L. Peters Mar 02, 2018

It is often said that we forget 80% of what we learn in any a given day. Even worse news is that after three days, we have mostly forgotten everything we learned! While this may be totally acceptable for the mindless dribble we glean from the media: Is the same loss of knowledge acceptable when we are talking about tasks or projects that we just completed? In this latter case, there are some very useful nuggets of information about “what went well, what did not go well and what we might do differently” the next time we, or others, engage in a similar task. This is the subject Artie Mahal addresses in his recent book, “After Action Review, Continuous Improvement Made Easy.” There are many books about how this type of review is performed in highly structured organizations such as large corporations and the military. Office bookshelves full of works describing concepts such as “red team”, lessons learned, post-mortem and root cause analysis come easily to mind. These are examples of what Mahal, an expert on facilitation and processes improvement, calls “Formal After Action Reviews”, those that are highly structured, usually held over multiple days and attended by teams of people being led through a pre-planned set of workshops with the goal of being to produce a final report suitable for the corporate environment. In support of this type of approach, the book includes a complete set of checklists and templates that can assist in the success of the effort.While the formal approach is well understood, what about using this type of approach in less formal settings and in our everyday lives? Mahal describes this type of process as an “Informal After Action Review”, reflecting on what was desired and then recording what you “liked” about some activity followed by what you “wished” as a possible improvement. One can imagine using this as a group or even independently, jotting a few notes after an event such as a concert. You might note something such as, “I liked the seats I had” but “I wish I was closer to the stage” as a guide for next time. Also, this type of approach could be used at the close of a meeting where the group notes both “what worked well” and “even better if” as suggestions for the next session.Possibly one of the best things about this book is its brevity. In 79 pages, Mahal shares the most important things you need to know to successfully conduct either a formal or an informal after action review. It is not meant for your bookshelf, but to be carried in you bag for easy reference. Now, in terms of reference, I wish I had purchased the electronic edition so I could take advantage of all of reference links provided throughout the book. Maybe I will make a note in my new After Action Notebook so I can do better next time!

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Annie Marie Feb 09, 2018

I’ve spent the past 30 years helping organizations large and small improve the way they get work done. After Action Reviews have been a part of my toolkit for much of that time. I thought I knew how it was done. Artie Mahal, in his superbly written book, taught me otherwise. I have never seen the process so simply yet thoroughly explained. Arite is extremely well read and he uses that breadth of knowledge to add perspectives to his knowledge without coming across as pedantic or showy. The book is full of easy-to-understand frameworks and tools as well as examples of how to apply them. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced group facilitator this book has something for you.

Amazon Verified review

Beth Beasley Feb 06, 2018

The book captured the importance of continuous improvement through after action reviews in a clear and easy to use manner. I've read all of the books by Artie Mahal and found them to be practical and easy to apply in the workplace. It doesn't matter what type of project you manage - the concepts in this book are universal. Highly recommend it.

Amazon Verified review

Steve Feb 15, 2018

And Artie Mahal's book explains how. Reflecting on work completed by a team, whether formal or informal, is a great way to improve performance on the next project. But After Action Reviews can be considered unpleasant meetings where mistakes and problems are aired in front of coworkers. I liked how Artie's book provides techniques for keeping the session objective and productive, while optimizing the time spent in the AAR.

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Rex Castle Mar 31, 2019

I read this in a sitting. It’s a quick, easy read and no it is not a treatise on Six Sigma and/or Root Cause Analysis, but it is an exceptional primer and reminder for those of us who embrace AAR. Too, it’s easily understood and executed. And, too, it also supports my strong belief that an AAR can be beneficial in a negative outcome, but can also be incredibly beneficial when a positive outcome is achieved.

Amazon Verified review

After Action Review: Continuous Improvement Made Easy: Continuous Improvement Made Easy

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