The Market Your Message Show
The Market Your Message Show
Ch 19. The Magic of the Debrief
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The Power of Debriefing: Unlocking Insights for Successful Launches
In this episode of 'Market Your Message Show,' host Jonathan Milligan discusses the importance of debriefing in validating your business offer. Using the framework of After Action Reviews from the U.S. Army, Jonathan explains how systematic reflection and structured debriefs can enhance future launches. The episode covers creating a dedicated debrief spreadsheet, identifying successes to replicate, recognizing areas for improvement, brainstorming new ideas, and eliminating ineffective practices. Listeners are encouraged to adopt this practice to gain valuable insights and drive continuous improvement in their business launches.
00:00 Welcome to the Market Show
00:11 Introduction to 'Validate Your Offer'
01:12 The Magic of the Debrief
02:33 Debriefing: Your Secret Weapon
03:38 Debrief or Bust: Avoiding Costly Mistakes
05:56 Five Steps to a Killer Debrief
11:41 Real-Life Debrief Exercise
14:40 Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Hello and welcome to the market. Your message show. I'm your host, Jonathan Milligan. And we are going through the third book in the series. Validate your offer. This is an important book because a lot of people will start their business online. And then they're trying to figure out how do I create something that people will want and how do I do it without wasting time? And that's what this third book in my book series is all about. Now as a thank you for being a loyal podcast listener, I am making the audio book available one chapter at a time every single week. And as you're listening to this, we are currently going through that. Validate your offer. Now, if you ever want the audio book or you want the book or the workbook, you can go to platform growth, books.com again, it's platform, growth books.com, and you could order one of those. And of course, listen, as you go through the book or use the workbook to implement what you hear. In each episode. So with that being said, let's jump right in to today's chapter.
Speaker 65:Chapter 19, The Magic of the Debrief. In the heat of the Vietnam War, the U. S. Army found itself in a quandary. They had more and better weapons, but they struggled to gain an advantage. This was due to the Viet Cong's unusual guerrilla tactics. Frustration and demoralization set in as the Army grappled with how to adapt and overcome. Enter the After Action Review. The Army developed the AAR during this hard period. It was a groundbreaking process. It helped soldiers learn from their experiences and get better. The concept was simple, but powerful. After each mission, soldiers would meet to discuss three key questions. What happened? What went well? What could be improved for future missions? By examining their successes and failures, soldiers could find areas for improvement. They could then make needed changes to their strategies and tactics. The AAR fostered a culture of learning, adaptability, and growth in the Army. This culture led to better performance and outcomes in battle. The impact of the AAR was so profound that it quickly spread throughout the U. S. military and beyond. For Today, the AAR is a standard practice in militaries worldwide. Its ideas have been adopted by businesses and groups in many industries. So, what does this mean for you and your launches? The answer is simple. Debriefing is your secret weapon. Like the Army's AAR, a good debrief after each launch can give you valuable insights. It will set you up for future success. Take time to think about what worked, what didn't, and And what can be improved. Then you'll be able to make data driven decisions and optimizations that will greatly improve your next launch. In the next sections, we'll explore the steps and strategies you need to use. They will make debriefing a key part of your launch process. We'll cover how to structure your debriefs. We'll talk about what questions to ask and how to turn your findings into actionable improvements. Because here's the truth. Launching is just the beginning. The real magic happens in the debrief. It's where you'll uncover the insights and opportunities that will take your launches from good to great. So get ready to embrace the power of the debrief, your future launches and your bottom line will thank you.
Speaker 66:Debrief or bust, the costly mistake of rushing to the next thing. You've just wrapped up a big launch. You poured your heart and soul into it, burning the midnight oil and hustling like there's no tomorrow. The moment it's over, you breathe a sigh of relief and immediately start thinking about what's next on your to do list. Sound familiar? If you're like most entrepreneurs, you probably have a tendency to jump straight from one launch to the next without taking a beat. You're eager to keep the momentum going, to capitalize on the buzz, to strike while the iron's hot. But here's the thing. When you skip the debrief. You're doing yourself a huge disservice. Sure, it might feel productive to dive headfirst into your next project, but you're missing out on a golden opportunity to learn, grow, and optimize. By not taking the time to reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what could be improved, you're essentially flying blind. You're making decisions based on gut instinct rather than data driven insights. And that's a recipe for stagnation. When you don't debrief, you risk repeating the same mistakes over and over again. You fail to capitalize on your successes and miss out on chances to double down on what's working. You rob yourself of the opportunity to iterate, innovate, and take your launches to the next level. But here's the good news. There's a simple solution. Implement a structured debrief process. It will capture all those juicy learnings and insights. Then you're done. Use them to inform your future launches. A solid debrief is like a treasure map guiding you toward the gold mines of optimization and success. It's a chance to step back, assess your performance and identify areas for improvement. It's an opportunity to celebrate your wins, learn from your losses and chart a course for even greater success. So, how do you make debriefing a non negotiable part of your launch process? It all starts with a commitment to reflection, and a willingness to confront the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the next section, we'll dive into the nitty gritty of how to structure your debriefs for maximum impact. But first, let's make a pact. No more launch and leave. No more rushing to the next thing without pausing to reflect. No more missed opportunities for growth and optimization.
Speaker 67:The magic of the debrief five steps to uncovering your next goldmine idea. Step one, create a dedicated debrief spreadsheet. Your debrief spreadsheet is your launches best friend. This hub captures all your thoughts, ideas, and customer feedback. It also collects feedback from non customers. Think of it as the ultimate brain dump for your launch. Just like how athletes obsessively review game footage to identify areas for improvement, your debrief spreadsheet allows you to analyze your launch from every possible angle. It's your chance to get granular, to dig deep and to uncover those game changing insights. So what goes into this magical spreadsheet? Everything, every bit of feedback. Every idea that pops into your head, every data point, you can get your hands on. The more comprehensive your spreadsheet, the more powerful your debrief will be. Remember, a well organized debrief spreadsheet is the foundation for a successful debrief process. It's the bedrock upon which you'll build your future launch strategies. So take the time to set it up right and watch as it becomes your secret weapon for optimization and growth. Step two, identify what to do again. You nailed it. Those elements of your launch that worked like a charm that had your customers raving and your metrics soaring. Those are the things you want to bottle up and replicate in every future launch. In this step, your mission is to pinpoint those success factors and make them your North Star. Dig through your feedback, your data, and your own observations to identify what really moved the needle. Was it a particular marketing strategy? The killer piece of content? A influencer partnership that set your launch on fire? Whatever it was, make a note of it in your spreadsheet. These are the things you want to double down on to make a core part of your launch playbook. As Winston Churchill famously said, Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Recognizing and leveraging your successes is key to building momentum and consistency. So, don't be shy about patting yourself on the back and making those wins a central part of your go forward strategy. Step three, determine what to do differently.
Hindsight is 20 20, right?
Speaker 67:Looking back on your launch, there are probably a few things that you'd approach differently if you had a do over. Maybe that Facebook ad campaign fell flat or that webinar didn't quite hit the mark. In this step, your job is to reflect on those aspects of your launch that didn't quite live up to your expectations. This isn't about beating yourself up. It's about learning and growing. As Thomas Edison famously said. I have not failed. I've just found 10, 000 ways that won't work. Embracing and learning from your missteps is essential for growth and improvement. So, take a hard look at what didn't work. And brainstorm ways to approach things differently next time. Would a different ad platform have yielded better results? Could you have tweaked your webinar content to be more engaging? Capture those insights in your spreadsheet and use them to inform your future launch strategies. Remember, every failure is just a stepping stone on the path to success. Step 4. Identify where to start. Innovation is the name of the game. You need to stay ahead of the curve. You need to keep your launches fresh and effective. So, you need to always look for new strategies, tactics, and ideas. In this step, your job is to brainstorm new approaches. You didn't use them in your last launch, but they could make your future launches better. Maybe you've been hearing buzz about a new social media platform that your target audience is flocking to, or perhaps there's a new content format that's been generating tons of engagement in your industry. The possibilities are endless. The key is to keep an open mind and be willing to experiment. So don't be afraid to think outside the box and try something new. Capture those ideas in your spreadsheet. And make a plan to test them out in your next launch. Remember, continuously seeking out new opportunities and ideas is crucial for staying ahead of the curve. Embrace the unknown and watch your launches soar.
Speaker 68:Step 5. Decide what to stop doing. Sometimes less is more. Just as a gardener prunes dead branches to promote growth, cutting ineffective practices lets you focus on what truly matters. In this final step, your job is to take a hard look at your launch and identify the activities or efforts that yielded little to no results. Perhaps you poured hours into crafting the perfect email sequence, only to see abysmal open rates. Or maybe you invested in a pricey tool that ended up being more trouble than it was worth. Whatever the case may be, it's time to cut the dead weight. Streamlining your efforts by eliminating what doesn't work is just as important as identifying what does. So, comb through your spreadsheet and ruthlessly identify those areas where you didn't see a solid return on your investment. Make a note to either tweak your approach or ditch those practices altogether in your next launch. Remember, your time and resources are precious. By cutting out the ineffective stuff, you free yourself up to double down on the strategies and tactics that really move the needle. And there you have it. The five steps to a killer debrief spreadsheet and process. By following this approach after every launch, you'll be able to keep improving. You'll make your strategies better and your results too. You'll take your business to new heights. Today's exercise, complete your debrief. All right. It's time to put all this debrief knowledge into practice, grab a timer, set it for 15 minutes, and let's dive into a real life debrief of your most recent launch. First things first, crack open a fresh spreadsheet. You know the drill by now. This is where you'll capture all those juicy insights and aha moments. Now, cast your mind back to your last launch. Take a deep breath and let's break it down using the four categories we've been talking about. Category number one, do again. What worked like a charm? What had your customers raving and your metrics soaring? Jot down those success factors in your spreadsheet. These are the things you want to make a staple in your launch playbook. Category number two, do differently. Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Looking back, what would you change? What didn't quite hit the mark? Put those insights in your spreadsheet. Then brainstorm ways to do things differently. Next time, category number three, start doing it's time to get innovative. What new strategies, tactics, or ideas could you experiment with in your next launch? Let your imagination run wild and capture those light bulb moments in your spreadsheet. Category number four, stop doing. Trim the fat. What activities or efforts didn't yield results? What felt like a waste of time or resources? Make a note in your spreadsheet to ditch those practices in your next launch. Set that timer and go spend 15 focused minutes, really digging into your last launch. Be honest with yourself and don't hold back. The more comprehensive your debrief, the more powerful your insights will be. Once your timer dings, take a step back and review your notes. What patterns do you see? What insights jump out at you? Use those observations to craft a killer action plan for your next launch. Maybe you realize that your social media strategy needs a serious overhaul. Perhaps you identified a new content format that you want to experiment with. Whatever the case may be, translate those insights into concrete action steps. Remember, your debrief is only as valuable as what you do with it. So don't let those insights gather dust in your spreadsheet, put them into action and watch as your launches get better and better with each iteration. Congratulations. You just completed your first real life launch debrief. How do you feel energized, inspired, ready to tackle your next launch with a new found clarity and purpose. That's the power of the debrief. My friend, make this a regular practice after every launch. Then you'll be able to continuously improve your strategies and results. This will take your business to new heights. So keep that debrief spreadsheet close and make reflection a non negotiable part of your launch process. Your future self and your bottom line will thank you. Key takeaways, thorough debriefs after each launch are essential. They allow for continuous improvement in future success. A structured debrief process uses the four categories. They are. Do again, do differently, start doing and stop doing. This process helps find key insights and growth opportunities. Debrief insights lead to successful launches and industry innovation.
They provide a competitive edge by driving increases in both areas.