A 2018 new year resolution Premortem

You know what a postmortem is as we see them in crime shoes all the time when they investigate a body for clues to cause of death and who might have done it. A premortem is similar except, there is no body, but there may be one on the way.

This is something I run with clients and have found to be very useful in identifying potential problems before they happen. Often at the start of a new project, enthusiasm limits the in-depth analysis of potential errors, risks are reduced and many may even be dismissed completely. Even those trained in risk management can suffer from rose coloured glasses.

With 2017 drawing to a close and 2018 about to begin, lots of resolutions will be made, lots of hopes and dreams, lots of well-laid plans and intentions will be thought about. But, how often do things go awry, how often do we fall short?

What if this year you try something new, it isn't very hard as it is using one of the human brain's key features, the imagination. Once you have spent a little bit of time thinking about how you want your 2018 to be, once you have some plans, a future position in mind, instead of thinking about how to make it happen, imagine it has already happened, imagine it is just about to turn to 2019.

Not in some nonsense positive affirmation way instead, imagine it as a complete and utter failure and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Every weak link broke, every pothole got hit. It was a disaster year and nothing you planned worked as expected, no matter how hard you tried. Your plans got murdered.

What went wrong, what got in the way, what unexpected events did you not consider but in hindsight were so obvious? How many of your hopes and dreams depended on external circumstances outside of your locus of control? How much required a lot of work but you were unwilling to do or learn what was necessary? How many things are dreams rather than possibilities?

I will do one of these in the next few days but I am posting this now so people can have a think about it for themselves and hopefully, attempt their own post. If you use the tag #premortem2018 I will check them out and comment or add value if I can.

My hope is that rather than just speak the words of what we want, we find creative ways to activate ourselves to learn and do what is necessary. Even a few small steps and investigations can make a massive difference in the year. I know, I have seen it, been a part of it and done it myself.

I think if people try this, they will find a lot of value for themselves that they had not considered earlier. Good luck.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]