Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of this country who also managed to invent bifocals and the lightning rod, publish the first political cartoon, and become one of the five men to draft the Declaration of Independence, said it best: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Throughout my various careers, I’ve placed a lot of value on preparation; I’ve practically elevated it to an art form.
At the agency we had bug-out bags. These bags were equipped with everything you would reasonably need to survive should a major attack occur. We were taught to check, check, and recheck our bug-out bags on a regular basis. Should a catastrophe take place, you didn’t want to be the guy who didn’t have extra batteries for his radio and couldn’t communicate with anyone. We were taught to approach the planning of missions in the same way. After reading a requirement, we didn’t just jump into action. We double-checked and dug deeper with the analyst who wrote the requirement, so we could ensure we understood everything and could make the right preparations. No intelligence officer wants to head out to a remote part of a foreign country only to find out he doesn’t have everything he needs. In that case he can’t exactly walk into a local store and buy a super powerful antenna capable of picking up enemy chatter. If the preparations aren’t executed perfectly, the mission will fail.
Preparation saves lives. We’ve all seen horrible stories on TV about what the lack of preparation does when a natural disaster such as a hurricane hits—people die from lack of water. People die out in the elements when they get lost during a blizzard and don’t have the right gear. I have always prepared myself and my family properly so that we can survive any attack or natural disaster. As any entrepreneur knows, starting a new business is terribly risky. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 percent of new businesses fail in the first year, and 50 percent in the second year. Those are scary numbers. It was a great gift when I realized that my natural inclination toward preparation (extreme preparation, anyone who knows me would say) could be the factor that fail proofs my business.
THE POWER OF CHECKLISTS
At Spy Escape & Evasion, we have carefully crafted checklists for every class we teach, and they are extremely detailed. It’s easy to underestimate how helpful a checklist can be when conducting business, but they are much more than a few words scribbled on a piece of paper. A strong checklist system can provide your business with some excellent benefits:
Training tools: New employees can refer to checklists and easily see what the expectations are for a specific task and can see all the steps required to successfully execute a task.
Maintain consistency: At Spy Escape & Evasion, we know exactly what is needed to make each of our events safe and enjoyable for our customers—our classes are consistent. The only people who teach our courses are experienced former intelligence officers who are the tops in their field. Our spy exercises are always executed in fun and lively locations—from the streets of a small town to Las Vegas casinos. We are always sure to include a memorable exercise. Duct taping people’s hands together and teaching them how to escape from a locked trunk is always a hit. And we work hard to make sure our presentations are fresh and easy to understand. Our lectures are accompanied by dynamic visual presentations to make sure we’re delivering our message in ways that everyone can understand.
Help delegate: We can refer to a checklist when we’re planning an event and instantly see all of the tasks that need to be taken care of. This is incredibly useful when deciding which team members are going to tackle what tasks. We can also instantly see if an event requires more hands on deck and we can bring in extra help.
Open up time for other activities: Having everything laid out for you in a checklist allows you to perfect your technique and leaves you with more energy for other tasks. Knowing you have a flawless system for executing something relieves stress and opens up time for everything from networking to goal setting.
CHECKLISTS PROVIDE INVALUABLE FEEDBACK:
The After-Action Report
It’s true that before an event I’ll triple-check that every item on my list is accounted for (and I’ll probably go ahead and check everything one more time). I’ll carefully load the truck with gear the night before the event, crossing items off as they’re packed. If we’re doing a shooting class, I’ll check the number of firearms, ammunition, targets, hearing protection, shooting glasses, QuikClot (in case of an emergency), radios, batteries, bullhorn, water, sandwiches, snacks, and so forth. One missing item can mean the difference between an amazing experience and a mediocre one. I’ll also have called the hotel to check on the accommodations for people who are flying in. If we’re using a conference room for meetings, I’ll confirm the lighting, the electrical outlets, and the seating format. This is the easiest yet most important thing you can do to ensure success for your business. But there’s an additional value to extreme preparation: It also provides you with easy, free, instant feedback about how to improve your experience for even greater success in the future. In the field, spies are going to be carefully tracking their progress. Depending on the nature of the operation, they may be taking notes, communicating via radio, or writing secrets down on water-soluble paper (which will dissolve easily if a spy needs to destroy it quickly). Spies are always refining their process—paying attention to what has worked, techniques that need to be improved, and tactics that were smoothly executed and worked well. All of this information is carefully documented in what’s known as the after-action report (AAR). An after-action report is a document used to review any project or event after its completion. It’s useful for learning about what went right, noting what went wrong, and helping to ensure a better outcome next time.
For example, if you work in real estate, you’re going to be holding lots of open houses for other realtors and the public. Your ability to sell a home (and ultimately earn a commission) is dependent on those open houses running smoothly. Imagine the impression you’d make if you couldn’t open the door because you forgot the key. What if the brochures you had printed weren’t ready in time? Or, worse, what if you opened the door minutes before the open house was due to begin and discovered the occupants had had some wild party and the house was a huge mess? Having a process—namely, checklists detailing everything required to make the event a success, from brochures to a process for making sure the house is in order—can make the difference between closing a sale (and getting new clients from people who are impressed by how you work) and having a disastrous event.
THE COMPANY BRIEFING:
How to Create an After-Action Report
We have a teamwide briefing after every event. We sit down to discuss the event in detail, and we go over every aspect of our after-action report. This is exactly what intelligence officers do after an operation. They are always analyzing and carefully refining procedures so that future operations will run even more smoothly. The after-action report is one of the most impactful tools we have to assess and evaluate our events. We are always on the lookout for ways to improve the customer experience, become more efficient, and fill in any gaps that could cause problems. A good AAR generally looks like the following:
[ EXERCISE SUMMARY ]
SPY ESCAPE & EVASION
EXERCISE NAME: Ultimate Spy Week
EXERCISE DATES: September 10, 2017—September 16, 2017
SUMMARY/SCOPE OF EXERCISE:
OBJECTIVES: They Ultimate Spy Week is an adrenaline-charged week that teaches attendees the following skills: escape & evasion, evasive driving, knife defense, riflecraft, pistolcraft, and hand-to-hand combat. Our goal is to have every attendee leave with the confidence and skills to overcome any threat they face.
POTENTIAL THREATS/HAZARDS: We have switched the venue to a new hotel—it’s crucial we confirm the seating arrangement we’ve requested has been executed. Confirm audiovisual equipment is set up and working. Also, we’re using a new area for practicing surveillance detection routes. Last, and perhaps most pressing, is that we ensure safety during the breaking out of a trunk exercise. We want to alert authorities in the area—do not want to be mistaken for actual kidnapping.
Participating individuals:
Eight team members from Spy Escape & Evasion
- Jason Hanson
- Instructor X
- Instructor Y
- Instructor Q
- Instructor S
- Audiovisual
- Admin
- Admin
CORE CAPABILITY N
1:
- Strengths—Instructor X was captivating and informative; his presentations were lively and well received.
- Visuals. Created clarity.
- Storytelling. Compelling and useful.
- Skills. Well executed and easy to follow.
- Area for improvement:
- Cover stop explanation should come earlier in presentation.
- More props would improve the presentation further.
CORE CAPABILITY N2: HOTEL/NEW VENUE
- Strengths
- Attendees greeted appropriately and given directions.
- Room set up as requested.
- Audio and visual working as requested.
- Area for improvement:
- Lower floor would be better; took too long for people to go downstairs for food or drinks during breaks.
- Temperature of the room inconsistent.
CORE CAPABILITY N3: ADMIN
- Strengths
- Checked in with all participants. Made everyone feel welcome.
- Handled logistical problems with any guests.
- Took photographs of participants doing training exercises.
- Area for improvement:
- Give out photo-release forms before arrival.
- Offer to email photos to participants who want them.
- Consider bringing second camera so two people can shoot.
- The water went quickly. Two more cases of bottled water should be purchased for next event.
THE ANATOMY OF AN AFTER-ACTION REPORT
Whether we’ve just concluded one of our week-long spy courses or we’ve finished a major project such as designing, manufacturing, and selling a new knife, we’ll recap our objectives in an AAR. While we’ve crafted our own after-action report that suits our needs, it’s easy to create one that works for your business. To ensure you’re getting as much valuable information as possible, consider including the following summary.
SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT/RECAP OF OBJECTIVES
What was the ultimate goal?
Our goal was to design, manufacture, market, and sell a high-quality survival knife that could be used in covert operations. It had to be lightweight and use only the finest steel on the market. Also had to have a modular sheath, allowing the user to wear the knife multiple ways on his person.
Was that goal reached?
After consulting with several designers, we landed on a concept that met our criteria. We were also able to locate a strong, lightweight steel that fit in with our pricing parameters.
What parts of the project/event worked?
Designer X was easy to work with, affordable, communicated clearly, and followed through with everything he said he was going to do. He is a fantastic asset, and his contributions to the project helped us reach our goal.
What parts didn’t work? Why?
It was more challenging to find the right steel, and get enough supplies to meet the high demand. We will have to monitor this consistently.
What elements need to be changed?
Initially, this project took more time than anticipated, as we needed to locate the right designers, producers, and vendors. We need to do more outreach to have quicker access to people working in these areas.
Briefing takeaway:
- List conclusions drawn after everyone has read the AAR.
- Discuss who will be responsible for which actions.
- Offer opportunity for team members to voice opinions or ideas.
- Make any appropriate changes to the checklist.
Checklists and AARs can help you avoid annoying, costly mistakes that can result in your losing a customer. Intelligence officers are not the only people who have faith in checklists. Surgeon and author Atul Gawande has written extensively about how checklists save lives. As a surgeon, he notes that there are “errors of ignorance” and “errors of ineptitude.” The first error stems from making mistakes because we don’t know something, the second because we aren’t using what we know in the right way. He wisely points out that most failures are due to the second form of ignorance. Checklists and AARs are a simple solution that can prevent the constant mistakes that can arise simply because we are human. Surgeons and pilots heavily rely on such systems for this reason.
And perhaps the best part of this system? After I’ve carefully loaded a truck the night before an event—crossing off each item as I’ve packed it—I know I can go to bed and enjoy a stress-free night of sleep, because I know with 100 percent certainty that everything my team needs for a successful event is right where it needs to be.
SPY MYTHS DECODED
SPIES DON’T WEAR TRENCH COATS IN REAL LIFE, IT’S JUST IN THE MOVIES.
False!
It usually seems ridiculous to see a spy in a full-length trench coat. In the movies they’re always running after someone or being chased, obviously being impeded somewhat by the coat they’re wearing. But the truth is, the classic spy trench coat is the best garment for carrying around all of the tools necessary to do the job. As I’ve just told you, spies are perhaps the most prepared people in the world. Their trench coat is likely to have specially created compartments that hold a firearm, knives, ammunition, a flashlight, a phone, a radio, and canisters to contain information. Depending on the level of danger, it’s possible that secret compartments would have been added into the coat so that the intelligence officer can safely transport top-secret information.
[ AFTER ACTION REPORT TEMPLATE ]
EXERCISE SUMMARY
EVENT/PROJECT:
DATES:
SUMMARY/SCOPE OF EVENT/PROJECT:
OBJECTIVES:
POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS:
PARTICIPATING TEAM MEMBERS:
CORE CAPABILITY #1:
- Strengths
- Area for improvement:
CORE CAPABILITY #2:
- Strengths
- Area for improvement:
CORE CAPABILITY #3:
- Strengths
- Area for improvement: