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The Value of Experience

We have all heard those consoling words: “experience is the best teacher.” I suspect many of you are quickly quoting John Maxwell’s retort: “Experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is.”

Taking the extra step to revisit experience can be painful, as Oscar Wilde observed, “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” I once saw a guy in the gym wearing a shirt proclaiming, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” While it may be painful to evaluate a difficult experience, only a fair assessment can give you proper perspective.

The military conducts after action reviews (AARs). After any exercise, like a rehearsal of an ambush, they stop afterward to review every step and ask, “What went well?” and “What went poorly?” followed by “What needs to change?”

For the past two decades, the team at Randall House has undergone multiple AARs each year, when we launched a curriculum, completed a D6 or Vertical Three Conference, or some other endeavor. We gather those involved and dissect each element, from preparation to execution, always critiquing the process, not the people. Those evaluated experiences turn weakness into strength.

The true strategist will plan, implement, and evaluate, so the next plan is built on the lessons of the past. During the evaluation stage, be cautious not to be overly critical, but equally, don’t sweep issues or problems under the rug. Likewise, don’t ignore responsibility, but walk away with action steps. If you walk away from an AAR and never revisit or implement the lessons learned, all the review is for nothing.

When I pastored, I started a habit that has become a life-long routine; I turn my drive home every day into an AAR: what I accomplished; what I did not do; what I did not do well. Then, I begin to consider action steps for the following day.

To cast this concept theologically, remember God wants us to confess our sins, an evaluation of our sinful experience. We acknowledge wrong, confess, and repent, which carries the expectation of learning from past mistakes and turning away from those sins in the future in pursuit of holy living. Owning our mistakes in business, church, and among family and friends should be no different. While it may be painful, it also will be profitable.

Honest evaluation requires putting yourself under the microscope, with numerous eyes taking close observations. Healthy counsel provides honest feedback for your benefit and growth. We all need experience, but all experiences need evaluation.

Immanuel Kant described it this way: “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.”

About the Columnist: Ron Hunter Jr. has a Ph.D. in leadership and is CEO of Randall House Publications. You may contact him at ron.hunter@randallhouse.com.