After every mission in the Military, teams will conduct an After Action Review (AAR). Learn how to apply this in business.

An After Action Review is a simple, structured conversation that helps you and your team reflect on what happened, why it happened, and how to improve next time.

An AAR is not just about fixing mistakes, it’s about building a culture where learning happens all the time, not just sometimes. That way, each team gets a little better every day, no matter what the outcome.

Like many disciplines used in the military, running an AAR with your team can transform your business. So often, we finish a project, client job, campaign, or busy week and rush straight into the next thing. Wins get a quick cheer, problems get swept under the rug, and nobody stops to ask, “What did we really learn?”.

That’s where the AAR comes in. It’s a simple, honest debrief that you can run after any event. Think: sales pitches, team projects, product launches, or even after a customer complaint.

Key questions to run an AAR:

What did we set out to do?
What actually happened?
Why did it happen that way?
What will we do differently next time?

You can integrate and automate AARs into your systems and processes. One of our clients automated an AAR form to be completed at the end of each finished job. This ensured self-reflection had taken place and any findings were shared within the team during the next all-team meeting.

REFLECT:

How often do you pause as a team (or solo) to really look back and learn? What patterns keep repeating because you are always moving forward without reviewing?

TAKE ACTION:

Pick one meeting or project from this week, spend 5-10 minutes answering the four AAR questions.

Further Reading: https://cove.army.gov.au/article/after-action-review