Debrief to Win
When you and your team win, do you know why? Conversely, when you fail, do you have any idea how close you came to winning?
Today’s leaders are expected to deliver results in an era of unrelenting, exponential change. This fast-paced environment, coupled with the imperative to deliver short-term profits, means that far too many organizations don’t focus on the factors behind their wins or their losses.
In this brief video, I chat with author, U.S. Air Force F-15 & F-22 pilot, and retired Air Force Weapons School instructor Robert “Cujo” Teschner. Cujo recently worked with members of one of my Vistage groups on how to apply the military’s debrief model to their organizations. After you watch the video, I also encourage you to purchase a copy of Cujo’s book Debrief to Win: How America’s Top Guns Practice Accountable Leadership…and How You Can, Too! (Vmax Group’s Debrief-Focused Approach).
Let me know in the comments if you debrief and how it has helped you win. Because, as Slider said in Top Gun, “Remember, boys, no points for second place.”
TRANSCRIPT
Chad Harvey (00:05): Chad Harvey here with Rob Teschner, former F-22 and F-15 pilot, instructor at the Air Force version of TOPGUN. Rob, we just wrapped up a session with you on how you apply the debrief model to civilian businesses. What’s one thing you can share with our audience right now that would be important to them?
Rob “Cujo” Teschner (00:23): Hey, look, I’m going to give you two things.
Chad Harvey (00:25): All right.
Rob “Cujo” Teschner (00:25): First of all, the debrief is not a negative thing. It’s where we celebrate successes. It’s where we figure out why we won so that we can keep on doing it. And then the automatic tie into that is when things don’t go well, we don’t look at it as why we failed, but rather how close we were to success. So the two takeaways, one, figure out why we won so that we can replicate success. Two, don’t look at it as failure. Look at it as how close we were to success. Figure that out and then go out there and win next time.
Chad Harvey (00:57): I love it. Most people quit right before they’re about to win. So that’s fantastic. Thanks for everything today and thanks for everything you do for this country.
Rob “Cujo” Teschner (01:03): My pleasure, Chad. Thank you.