by Ryan Michler
Thirty-Day Checkpoint: ____________________________________
Sixty-Day Checkpoint: _____________________________________
Sample Contribution Objective: I will launch my business in the next ninety days.
Thirty-Day Checkpoint Example: I will have finalized the branding (images, logos, naming, etc.).
Sixty-Day Checkpoint Example: I will have completed the website and social media platforms.
What is the Twelve-Week Contribution Objective you identified from the previous chapter?
What are your thirty- and sixty-day checkpoints?
Thirty-Day Checkpoint: ____________________________________
Sixty-Day Checkpoint: _____________________________________
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TACTICS
Now that you’ve identified your checkpoints, it’s time to come up with two tactics in each of the Four Quadrants that will ensure you hit both your checkpoints and your final objective. When coming up with the tactics you will focus on, strive to find something you can complete every single day.
A huge factor in determining the success of your objectives is your ability to be consistent. If you choose tactics that are completed every two weeks, for example, there is no consistency in that, and you will have a difficult time developing the habit of action required to succeed over and over and over again.
Also, you’ll notice I said “two tactics.” Not three. Not seven. Only two. If you spread yourself too thin on the actions you’ll be taking, you’re likely to burn out. Focusing on just two tactics also forces you to choose actions that will yield the biggest results. Remember, we’re about efficiency, not busywork.
To go even further, when determining which tactics to implement, you will be asked to identify a primary tactic (completed every day) and a secondary tactic (a onetime or once-per-week tactic). Focus on your primary tactic. Only give attention to the secondary tactic as needed, if at all (some objectives do not require a secondary tactic).
Remember, as you identify tactics, you are not locking yourself into these actions forever. You’re only planning for the next twelve weeks, which means you’ll be doing this four times per year. You may also be required to change tactics midway through your Battle Plan because, during the review of your checkpoints, you might realize the tactics you’re currently employing are not producing the desired results.
This is merely planning. It may be appropriate and even necessary to change strategies once you’re engaged in the fight. Understand that now and be willing to be flexible in order to achieve the results you are fighting for.
Sample Calibration Objective: I will read six books in the next ninety days.
Primary Tactic: Read for thirty minutes every day.
Secondary Tactic: Read for two hours every weekend.
What are your Primary and Secondary Tactics for your Calibration Objective?
Primary Tactic (to be completed daily):
Secondary Tactic (to be completed periodically, if at all):
Sample Connection Objective: I will plan/finalize our family vacation in the next ninety days.
Primary Tactic: Save twenty-five dollars per day.
Secondary Tactic: Research activities and locations every weekend.
What are your Primary and Secondary Tactics for your Connection Objective?
Primary Tactic (to be completed daily):
Secondary Tactic (to be completed periodically, if at all):
Sample Condition Objective: I will perform a 400-pound deadlift in ninety days.
Primary Tactic: Exercise for sixty minutes per day.
Secondary Tactic: Test for maximum deadlift every two weeks.
What are your Primary and Secondary Tactics for your Condition Objective?
Primary Tactic (to be completed daily):
Secondary Tactic (to be completed periodically, if at all):
Sample Contribution Objective: I will launch my business in the next ninety days.
Primary Tactic: Spend sixty minutes per day developing the business.
Secondary Tactic: Spend an hour per week with a business mentor.
What are your Primary and Secondary Tactics for your Contribution Objective?
Primary Tactic (to be completed daily):
Secondary Tactic (to be completed periodically, if at all):
CHAPTER 23
AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
“Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear, and a manly heart.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
If there’s one thing that has the power to continue your growth and expansion, and maintain your sovereignty long after the motivation of this book wears off, it’s an After-Action Review.
See, most men go about their duties, they do some planning here and there, they keep their head down, and they hope it all works out. Hope, however, is not a strategy. When we overlook the power of reviewing our work, we subject ourselves to the mercy of external sources. Hopefully the market will work out. Hopefully the president will make wise decisions. Hopefully my boss likes my work. Hopefully I never get sick. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather place my future in something a bit more tangible and predictable. Not that everything is always going to work out when you make a plan, execute the plan, and review it. Things don’t always work out the way we hope they will, but whether victorious or disastrous, there is always something to be learned and improved upon.
This is where the After-Action Review comes into play. Essentially, the After-Action Review is a series of five questions that you should ask yourself after every engagement, encounter, exercise, project, conversation, and/or activity. Armed with the answers to these five questions, you will give yourself exponential opportunity to learn from your experiences and master whatever you happen to engage in.
If you’ve spent any time in the military or law enforcement, you’re probably somewhat familiar with the After-Action Review. I was introduced to it when I joined the National Guard, and, at the time, I hated it. Honestly, it seemed like just another task we had to check off without any real purpose or effect on our ability to improve performance. That may have been because it was handled ineffectively or because, in my youth, I allowed my arrogance and ego to get in the way. After all, if I had to consider what I might improve, what did that say about my initial performance in the first place?
But this isn’t an opportunity to talk about all the things you did wrong. The After-Action Review is also an opportunity to uncover your strengths and what you did right. This is an opportunity to take an objective look at your performance and double down on your strengths and shore up any weaknesses.
This one strategy has illuminated all kinds of gaps in my actions and highlighted things that would have been difficult for me to discover without it. When I first learned the After-Action Review, I had to reference the questions, but I’ve used it so often now (dozens of times per day), that I’ve internalized the questions and can quickly break down what I did right and where I went wrong in any activity.
Yes, I want you to use the answers to the After-Action Review Questions to review your Twelve-Week Battle Plan, but I also want you to use them after difficult conversations, projects at work, hobbies you’re attempting to master, and the way you complete your tasks around the house.
The more you use these questions, the more powerful you become in expanding your skill set and sovereignty.
WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH?
The first question in the After-Action Review is “What did I accomplish?” At the end of the day, did you accomplish what you set out to accomplish? In order to have a level of measurable success, you have to identify objectives in the first place. If you don’t, how will you ever know if you’re producing desired results? You won’t.
Take a look at your Battle Plan and, specifically, your objectives in each of the Four
Quadrants. Did you accomplish your objective? Be truthful with yourself. You either did or you didn’t. You might be able to fool others with the answer to this question, but you cannot fool yourself.
If you can answer yes to this question, congratulations. Now go back to the drawing board and create a new objective that will push you further than your recent victory.
If the answer is no, you have some work to do. But take heart. In answering this and the remaining questions, you are arming yourself with an opportunity to get it right next time around.
WHAT DID I NOT ACCOMPLISH?
It’s safe to assume that whether or not you completed your objective, there were probably some metrics in which you fell short and have some room for improvement in. Perhaps you completed your objective early but failed to recalibrate and push yourself as hard as you know you could have. Maybe you completed a portion of your objective but missed other parts of it. Maybe you didn’t accomplish anything at all.
Whatever the outcome, accepting the reality that there were some areas in which you missed the mark is critical if you are to maximize your potential and outcomes moving forward.
The answer to this question may also represent your objective for the next twelve weeks. Remember, missing an objective is not the end of the world. We’re in this thing for the long haul.
When answering this question, it’s also important to ask yourself why you fell short. Was the goal too ambitious? Were there some things that came up that you need to plan for next time? What was the reason for your failure? (Note, I said “reason,” not “excuse.”)
WHAT DID I DO WELL?
Each and every one of us has a certain set of strengths. Far too often men fail to recognize what these actually are. If you knew for certain what you were good at and where you were most effective, you could craft a plan around those strengths to produce exponential results.
So, whether you completed your objective or not, this is an opportunity for you to start uncovering the strengths you bring to the table. Were you extremely organized? Were you consistent with your tactics? Did you do a good job communicating your vision and plan to those who would be impacted by the decisions you were making? When you got off track, were you able to adjust and make corrections quickly? Were there elements of your Battle Plan that seemed to come easy for you?
These are all powerful questions that will begin to highlight where you are naturally inclined to succeed. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard my children complain that life isn’t fair. We, as parents, typically brush it off as best we can, but our kids are right—life isn’t fair. There are some skill sets, traits, and talents that you possess that push the odds in your favor. Your goal should be to uncover what they are and use them to your benefit.
WHAT DID I NOT DO WELL?
Just as you possess a set of strengths, you also possess a set of weaknesses. It’s a fact, you can’t be good at everything. So, on your journey to complete your Twelve-Week Battle Plan, you likely recognized some areas where you really struggled.
Did you have a hard time tracking your activity? Were you able to maintain consistency? Did you notice yourself getting distracted from your tactics? Did you have a tendency to rationalize your inaction? Did you burn out quickly? Did you let others deter you from driving on?
The answers to these questions will help you see where you may need to develop a new set of skills and potentially bring in someone or something else to help you achieve more. Is there work that can be delegated, for example? Or technology that will tighten up some of the areas in which you struggle?
I personally struggle with the details. They’re boring, tiresome, and draining. But I also recognize the need for details. So, rather than trouble myself with getting caught up in the specifics, I’ve hired someone who is very detail oriented and thrives on the specific planning I hate. This way, the needs and objectives are met, and I can focus on the things I excel in.
WHAT WILL I DO DIFFERENTLY MOVING FORWARD?
This is the most powerful question in the After-Action Review and one you must answer if you want to improve moving forward. It’s easy to do something for twelve weeks, then completely forget about it and neglect to maintain the changes you’ve made in your life.
We’re after lasting changes here, not temporary ones. So, after every Twelve-Week Battle Plan, you should ask yourself what you are going to do differently next time. Or how you are going to expand on the actions you’ve taken up to this point.
We’ve talked about life being a process of experimentation. That’s exactly what this question alludes to. Through the process of the Battle Plan and, specifically, the After-Action Review, you’re setting yourself up for the next twelve-week experimentation. You’re going to find that some of your experiments work and others do not. Your mission is to identify and keep what works and strip away anything that does not.
When answering this question, you will want to look to behaviors, resources, people, technology, information, and/or ideas you need to incorporate to make things more effective next time around.
Maybe you’ve identified your need to bring in a new teammate on a project. Maybe you need to double down your efforts in certain areas. Maybe you need to research more before engaging in an activity. Maybe your level of preparation was off, and you need to do more of that moving forward. Or maybe what you did actually worked perfectly, and it’s something you’re going to adopt permanently into the way you live your life.
Whatever you uncover though the five questions comprising the After-Action Review, always transition into the next project, idea, conversation, activity, and/or Battle Plan with clear answers to these questions and a plan to get better moving forward.
THE AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
What did I accomplish?
What did I not accomplish?
What did I do well?
What did I not do well?
What will I do differently moving forward?
CONCLUSION
ENGAGE
“To each comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing; unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-Winston Churchill
Let me finish by telling you that this is just the beginning of your journey to recapture your sovereignty. When I founded Order of Man in March 2015, I did so believing that there was a gap between what we know we should be doing and what we actually do. This gap represents the greatest threat to the control and power you ultimately have over your life. That power and control is merely potential at this point.
Every man is born with something great inside him. Most men go to their graves without uncovering what that greatness is. It remains dormant and hidden from him and the world that could have benefited so much if only he would have had the strength to engage in the battle for his heart and mind.
Too many men seem so willing to give up that power and disengage from the battle they were born to fight. They rationalize, justify, and lie about why that’s the case, but deep down in their hearts they know—they can feel it in every ounce of their being. Rather than advance in that battle, they retreat and attempt to mask what could potentially alter the course of their life.
This retreat is a combination of fear, social conditioning, and ignorance. Some men are aware of the battle and are too scared to do anything about it. Others have been carrying out conscious and subconscious orders so long that they forget they have a say in the matter. And some aren’t aware at all and remain in a perpetual cycle of mediocrity and complacency.
You cannot possibly be the complacent man, or you wouldn’t have picked up a copy of this book. If you’re the man who has been carrying out orders without question for far too long, you now know you have more power than you’ve previously given yourself credit for.
If you’re the man who is fi
lled with fear about what this journey of sovereignty will mean, what it will change, and what you’ll have to remove from your life, good. That fear, like I mentioned earlier, is the indicator that you’re about to do something that is going to push you outside your comfort zone and ultimately test your mettle as a man.
The last thing I want regarding this book is for you to finish it, close it, set it on your shelf, and never implement anything you learned. This book’s message can act as the catalyst for change and the operating system by which you live your life … if you choose to let it.
That is the choice you’re left with now. Do you put this book down, check it off the list, and get motivated for the next week or so? Or do you permanently transform your life with an understanding that whether or not you like it, you’re already in the battle?
But what a noble and honorable battle it is. In a world that tries to distort the reality of what makes a man a man, you have the ability to become a powerful pillar of strength and masculinity in your home, your business, your community, and the world.
Sure, you can retreat and revert back to the way things have always been. I’m sure no one will notice. Or you can live by the statement made by Robert Jordan: “There is one rule, above all others, for being a man. Whatever comes, face it on your feet.”
So, where do you go from here?
You start by understanding that this book is not designed to tell you what exactly you should be doing with your life. That’s up to you to determine, not me. This is simply a medium for equipping you with enough information to make your own decisions and choose your own path. If I laid it all out for you with the pages of this book, what right would I have to say that this is a journey of your own sovereignty?