>This distinction between "Before-the-fact" and "after-the-fact"
>reflection has peaked my curiousity. Whether framed in terms of
>individuals or organizations, these two concepts seem to relate to
>Planning (before-the-fact reflection) and Control (after-the-fact
>reflection). Yet, I wonder if these are artificial distinctions. I'm
>always in the midst of action. Therefore, when I reflect in the midst of
>that action, I am simultaneously thinking about what has happened and what
>will happen. Consequently, past and future are present in every moment.
>Is it possible to separate the two? Is it practical to separate the two?
>What methods could/should be used in separating the two?
>
>Bill also indicated that he learned from this experience that he needs to
>better retain the lessons he learns from reflection. I'm sure this is a
>global sentiment. What methods do you recommend for improving the
>capability of retaining lessons--at individual or organizational levels?
Hi Steven,
As an individual, practice (i.e., getting better at something) and
developing new habits would seem to be effective approaches. As an
organizaiton, several things occur to me. One, advocacy and appreciative
inquiry are adopted as organizational norms/values, and there is a strong
commitment from the top to make everyone in the organization answerable to
those norms. Two, we help each other.
As a simple viniette, if you communicate in such manner that I perceive a
mental model at work, I have some options. I can debate and argue (pitting
my mental model against yours, see who emerges as the loser for winning)
or I can respond with, Steve, sounds like you were saying so-and-so, is
that what you had in mind? In effect I'm facilitating a practice session
for you, where you get to reflect before you speak, albeit on the second
time around. Somewhere in there a new habit is taking shape.
Bill Braun
The Health Systems Group
- Physician Leadership Training
- Simulation Modeling for Healthcare
http://www.hlthsys.com
--Bill Braun <medprac@hlthsys.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>