Here’s a little secret for every project summary or report: add a section about “lessons learned.”
- What you learned
- What you would do differently in future
- What new processes or training needs to be put in place for the organization
This simple section is more valuable than the “results” section because it helps us to keep learning and sharing that learning with our colleagues.
A side benefit is that it can calm down anxious bosses who think things weren’t “good enough.” Acknowledging that you know what didn’t happen perfectly and why — and will do differently in the future — diffuses tension and focuses on the positive nature of learning and improvement.
The more new the area, like social media, the more important and valuable “lessons learned” is.
Great suggestion, Lois; I like this idea a lot. Not sure if you’re thinking about consulting projects for clients or just internal projects, but I think it’s a great add for consulting project reports, too — all part of being more transparent as well as providing as much value as possible.