“I told you so!”
That’s a very loaded statement.
Is it ideal to use after something didn’t go well?
My vote is a resounding “No!”
No matter how bad we want to say it, no matter how “right” we think we were, we won’t make any progress saying “I told you so.”
“I told you so” seems to get very negative responses when directed at one from another.
The tone seems misaligned from opportunities to learn.
It closes off thinking.
It seems to do more damage than good.
There’s little to no opportunity to learn from anything when “I told you so” is the theme.
Especially when on a team.
When something did not go well, we want to learn and adjust in order to avoid it the next time.
Constructive feedback over destructive criticism.
What could we say instead?
If we are sincere about learning, there must be something better to say that would encourage “lessons learned” versus an “end zone dance.”
What about questions instead of a closed statement?
What if we instead used:
“What can we learn from this?”
“What will we learn from this?”
“What could we do differently next time?”
“What will we do differently next time?”
What do you think?
What are questions you use in order to facilitate learning?
How do they work into your after action reviews (AARs)?
I thought you were going to go this way with it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCXTq-fWWio&ab_channel=smokethapimp
The Coen Brothers: GENIUS!
“No biggie!”