Chapter 7 is entitled, “Foster Valuable Interaction.”
The book has already chronicled some stories of CEOs and business owners sharing their story with a peer group. In each case, the group provided support and encouragement. Members of a peer advisory group must believe that sharing their issues – sharing their story – will result in a positive outcome. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter how safe or confidential the setting may be, they’re not likely to open up to the group.
Sometimes sharing our story is simply about engaging in dialogue with others with no expectation of reaching a decision. We just need to be heard. That’s a positive outcome.
Still sometimes we want a fresh perspective and guidance. We want to make a great decision and the feedback from others can help us achieve that positive outcome.
Defining valuable interaction
The authors define this in terms of a conversation where all participants are engaged. Everybody understands what’s being discussed, and are prepared to ask insightful questions that inspire focus and clarity for everybody. Everybody learns something valuable because they’re all involved in the conversation.
Skilled discussion
These are defined as a way of talking that leads to decisions. A skilled discussion is aimed at looking at a situation to separate good ideas from bad ones in hopes of letting the best ideas bubble to the top. If a discussion lacks a process, or the discipline, it can devolve into members just tossing out ideas, sharing thoughts and trying to sell their ideas. Effective peer advantage is found when members engage in some rigorous thinking with mutual respect so all the options can be weighed.
As you might imagine, these discussions don’t happen by accident. There is a process that will help optimize. Some real-life examples to help us do that come from the Blue Angels and the Navy Seals. They give us a framework for skilled discussions that can used by CEOs or business owners worldwide.
Blue Angels post-flight debrief
Everybody is equal in the debrief. That creates a safe environment for honest conversation. Rank, age and experience are non-factors during the debrief. Everybody is encouraged to be as candid as possible. People’s lives depend on it.
The pilots take turns talking about what they did well and they identify specific mistakes they made during the flight. They call those mistakes “safeties.” That means they’re safety problems or violations. Each pilot identifies their own safeties, but they also commit to the entire squadron that those errors will be fixed the next time they fly. Each pilot concludes his remarks by saying, “Glad to be here.” That tradition refers to their gratitude for being a member of the Blue Angels. They know other pilots are deployed around the world serving our country, making it possible for them to be part of an elite flying team.
After each pilot takes a turn, he gets critiques from two members of the team who are assigned to specifically observe and assess the flight from the ground. They share their perspective. Reviewing video of the flight, they watch and rewatch specific maneuvers to get a complete picture of the performance. The goal is to improve the performance for next time.
Other members offer the team their observations about the non-flight parts of the performance. These include things like the pilot’s salute and his march to and from the aircraft. This debriefing process is simple, but it ensures that every detail of the performance is covered.
Today, former Blue Angel pilot John Foley works with companies on continuous improvement. He uses the principles he learned while flying with the elite team. Foley says that what separates the Blue Angels from other great teams is the unique combination of attitude, habits,