REFLECTION

“We don’t learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience,” said John Dewey. This point was driven home to me after we hosted the largest group we have ever had here at Far Away Ranch… MBA students from BYU. 

I was surprised by what they liked most about our event. According to an after-event survey, it was the chance to slow down and reflect on what they were experiencing. One wrote, “I loved going on a long trail ride and connecting with my horse, and I also enjoyed going into the barn loft at the end of the day and having a conversation connecting principles from the day and reflecting.” Whether in the barn loft or around the campfire, we make a concerted effort to build in time for deep reflection.

Unfortunately, many leaders and their teams today are moving so fast with back-to-back meetings that they never get a chance to step back and take stock of their actions. Companies that instill “what-worked-and-what-didn’t-work” reflection routines consistently improve and win. Pepsi salespeople were always a great example to me with their “curbside debriefs” after every sales call. The “blue” sales members left these quick meetings with at least one insight they could use next time to beat the “red” team.