Introduction:
If our plans were perfect, and if our ability to implement them were perfect, we wouldn’t need to reflect. But, alas, that isn’t the case. Unfortunately, rarely does a new effort succeed without some fine-tuning and adjustments along the way. Which makes reflecting a useful, common process. We’ll find ourselves using this competency in almost every initiative.
Reflect, according to the Oxford Languages dictionary, means to think deeply or carefully about something.
We have a more specific definition – to think deeply and carefully about actions we have taken and then to make adjustments in those similar future actions. I often use reflect and ‘refine’ in combination. So, one can reflect on our solution (our plan), recognize the pluses and minuses, and then make some fine-tuning adjustments going forward to achieve a better result. Reflecting leads to mid-course corrections.
Reflecting requires, after we have begun some initiative, that we stop and evaluate our actions to determine how effective they are.
One can reflect individually, as in individual action plans, one can reflect with atn accountability partner, one can be an accountability partner and help others reflect, or one can reflect as a group exercise.
Used for
It is the last step in most thinking projects. After we have created an initiative and acted on it, we use this competency to make fine-tuning adjustments to what we have done, and to embed the behaviors into our routines.
Just like all the other competencies have applications outside of Menta-Morphosis so too does Reflecting. Once we become good at it, we’ll find lots of applications in other applications. But for our purposes, Reflecting is part of almost every Menta-Morphosis® application. For example, it is step six in the Learning system. When we attempt to gain a new competency, we commit to the change we are going to make, do it, and then reflect and refine our behavior.
Input/ Output
This competency begins with a record of what we had planned to do and ends with a set of more refined behaviors.
How to
Reflecting requires us to set aside some regular time, on a weekly or monthly basis, and review the results of our efforts. It is a discipline that will add impact to our Menta-Morphosis® solutions. We look at what we have done, and ask these questions:
“What is working well?”
“What could I have done better, or more?”
“Of those things, which is important?”
“How can I do more of them, or do them better?”
We then decide to make some small changes in what we are doing. That is the definition of “Refine.” We then make the changes we determined to make and repeat the process next week or next month. Eventually, we’ll become masters of it.
The biggest obstacle to effectively Reflecting & Refining is the requirement for objectivity. It requires us to be as objective as possible when evaluating our actions – something that is difficult for most of us to do. Objectivity is not an on/off, either /or phenomenon. There are degrees of objectivity. So, we can continually work at becoming more objective when we reflect on our behavior. To add a higher level of objectivity to our reflection, we can add an element of measurements.
We can measure the quantity and quality of repetitive actions, and we can measure the efficiency of time-related sequential actions.
Quantity and Quality of key events.
When our solution is complex, that is it requires more than one type of action, one can create measurements for those actions and then reflect on those measurements.
- Determine which actions we want to track. Here’s an example. Let’s say that we have – as a result of one of our Menta-Morphosis® thinking projects, created a system to acquire new customers. That system requires us to create a dynamic list of prospects, make an appointment with each, hold a first meeting, and eventually deliver a proposal. When a prospect buys the proposal, the system finishes and produces the anticipated outcome – a new customer.
After having created that system, we determine to measure:
- The number of prospects on the list at the end of each month
- The number of first meetings held each month.
- The number of proposals made to prospects every month.
- The number of new customers – as defined by someone buying the proposal and paying the invoice.
- Determine the best way to track them.
After having determined which actions we want to measure, the next step is to determine the best way to measure them. Each measurement should be as accurate as possible and relatively easy to obtain. So, we put this in place:
- The number of prospects on the list at the end of each month. One of our customer service reps can be charged with maintaining the list and reporting the end-of-the-month number to us at the end of every month.
- The number of first meetings held each month. Each of our three salespeople can enter that information into our CRM system, and we can pull the consolidated number off the system at the end of every month.
- The number of proposals made to prospects every month. Ditto.
- The number of new customers – as defined by someone buying the proposal and paying the invoice. Our accountant can provide us with a list at the end of every month.
Now we have a system for objectively measuring the key activities of our ‘new customer system.’
We‘ll find it helpful to create a document which captures the monthly numbers and compares them to previous months. We may also want to consider a spread sheet, a poster, a chart or a graphic that conveys the information so that others in the company can see the numbers.
- Review them monthly.
We then set up a monthly routine to reflect on how effectively our system operates. We can do this by ourselves, as in a small business, or we can create a team to reflect together, or we can help someone else reflect on the numbers. Regardless, let’s say that last month, we noted 105 prospects, 20 first meetings, 10 proposals, and five new customers. Our dashboard looks like this:
# of prospects first meetings proposals new customers
Goal: 110 35 17 8
Last month 105 20 10 5
First, we look at the quantity of key activities. We note that.
- The number of prospects is close to the goal.
- The number of first meetings is significantly down.
- The number of proposals is down.
- The number of new customers is down as well.
We then reflect on the quality of individual actions. Quality is defined by the relationship between two columns. So, for example, we had anticipated 35 first meetings out of 110 prospects, or a ratio of 110: 35, or a 31 percent quality rating. We actually achieved 105:20 or a 19% quality rating.
We had anticipated a 50% rate of proposals to first meetings. We achieved that. Finally, we had anticipated a 17:8 ratio of customers to proposals, or a rating of 47 percent. We actually achieved a 50% ratio, indicating that we are doing better at that step of the process than we had anticipated.
Using these simple measurements, and reflecting on these numbers, it’s clear that the issue is the quantity of first meetings. Our system needs to improve its ability to make appointments for first meetings with prospects. If we could improve that one step in the process, the whole system would work better.
In this case, our monthly meeting led us to focus on the one place in the system where an improvement would make the biggest difference. The discipline of reflecting on our (or your team’s) actual performance and then refining those actions is something we do every month, as a discipline.
So, we Start Right with the question: “How can we increase the quantity of first meetings we hold each month?” and begin the Menta-Morphosis® process on that question.
Time-based measurements in a sequential plan
While quantifying and measuring works well as a tool to help us be objective when it comes to repetitive tasks, it’s not appropriate for every situation. There are many instances where the result of our Menta-Morphosis® process is a sequential plan (See the Sequential action plan in the attachments.)
Time refers to the use of deadlines, and the inspection of the degree to which they were met. In this case, the question is not “How many did we do?” The question is “Did we do what we said we would?” The answer is yes or no. (This is why we write a precise prescription the way that we do.)
If the answer is” Yes” then we celebrate and move on. If the answer is “No” then we probe for the cause and attempt to fix it.
Reflecting on our progress for a sequential action plan, we basically ask, “Did I do what I said I would do, by the dates I said I would do them?” When we created the sequential action plans, we selected reasonable dates and deadlines for each item on the list.
When we reflect on our progress, then, we compare our actual results to the deadline and make fine tuning adjustments to it.
In our sales management course, for example, we have the sales manager be an accountability partner with each of the salespeople who report to him/her, and discuss both the quantifiable aspects of a salesperson’s results, as well as the action plan to attain those results. It’s a mix of quantifiable and sequential steps. The sales manager as accountability partner, asks each salesperson, “Did you do what you said you would do?” That question can refer to the entire monthly plan, or to any piece of it. So, in looking at the plan for key accounts, for example, the sales manager can ask “Did you do what you said you would do?” for the entire plan, or for each account, or for each planned sales calls within each account.
Variations
