A project is anything with a clear start and end point that’s done intentionally on behalf of a broader business goal.
A project could be a trade show, a product launch, a season of a podcast, a marketing campaign, hiring an employee, rebranding your website, running a workshop, or hosting an event. It’s anything with defined edges.
You can also turn things into projects. If you’re starting a blog, newsletter, or podcast, instead of assuming it’s something you’re going to do for the rest of forever, turn it into an experiment. Commit to 10 episodes of a podcast or a year of quarterly newsletters or six months of weekly blog posts. This is a helpful way to practice commitment while giving yourself permission to evolve and change. It allows you to test what works for you and your audience. This is especially helpful for new businesses or creatives who are practicing visibility.
A project debrief is a repeatable reflection practice.
It’s a guided conversation that gives you an opportunity to learn from, integrate, and celebrate your experiences.
An effective project debrief moves us beyond “good/bad” or “success/failure” and into the rich, nuanced landscape of our experiences.
It lets us practice being a curious, compassionate witness.
It invites us into play by turning things into experiments and giving them timelines. “Let’s try this and see what happens.”
It reminds us that we are in collaboration with our business. We do not have to continue doing what we’ve always done, we can iterate and evolve in favour of what’s next.
It shapes and informs our expectations. Instead of assuming something takes ‘x’ amount of time, we have the experience to know we need to allow for ‘3x’.
It gives us a well of wisdom to draw on. Rather than habitually turning outside of ourselves for answers, we can find direction within the patterns of our own lived experience.
And finally, it gives us an opportunity to reflect and celebrate.
Project debriefs shouldn’t be complicated.
The goal is to turn this into a practice.
The best way to do that is by making it as simple and inviting as possible.
Start small, but do start.
Note: I’ve broken this down into three overarching sections and given sample questions to explore within each. No need to follow this exactly or answer every question. Treat this as a starting point. Get curious and creative while figuring out what works for you. Come up with your own questions and use your own language.
Tell the truth about what happened. Not what you hoped for, not what’s comfortable, but what’s actually here. Be as objective as possible. You are practicing being a witness. This isn’t about blame (or even praise!), it’s about being clear and kind with yourself, your team, and your business.
Start drawing lines. Get curious about what could have contributed to any successes, failures, or surprises you experienced. Look for relationship. Be clear about what factors are in or out of your control. This is an opportunity to learn about your product, your market, your strategy, and yourselves.
Don’t worry if you can’t make sense of everything. Note things that feel notable. Patterns might reveal themselves down the line.
Integrate your experiences. This is your opportunity to bring forward what worked and compost what didn’t. Check-in and ask yourself how and if you want to do anything differently. What do you want to stop, start, or continue? Focus on what’s in your control. For example, do not put different expectations on the market, put different expectations on yourself.
Questions to explore:
Having a well-grooved reflection practice is a huge strength in business and in life.
By taking an intentional pause, you’re setting yourself up to learn from your experiences and integrate those learnings into whatever comes next.
Use project debriefs as a tool to come into conversation with your business, your team, and yourself.
