Assess, Address, Appraise

by Robert Weber

I failed my way to success.

-- Thomas Edison

Assess, Address, Appraise

We often use little phrases as mnemonics... simple reminders to do certain things in a certain order. Especially when spray is flying and panic threatens to creep in from the edges, numbing the mind.

One of the most useful and often used is assess, address, appraise.

Whether approaching the morning stove for breakfast with coffee... whether leaving anchor... whether skirting a suddenly lee shore... This phrase reminds us to size up the situation and make a decision. Execute that decision. Then review the results.

It's not necessary to do things in just this order. We might cycle through each several times in the course of even a simple project. But it reminds us to take those steps, rather than just wing it.

These three sit well with us, though any alternative would work as well. Dig it, do it, review it?? Anything you can and do remember works.

Assess

Look the situation over.

What is the challenge? Brainstorm solutions and winnow them out. Does everything work together? What are our resources? What's on hand, and what's to be gathered? What's the order of approach? And so on and on.

This phase can drag out, in complex situations, for months or years. Or it can be accomplished with a glance, especially as experience grows. In an emergency, sometimes a glance is all you get. But take what you can.

One point we constantly remind ourselves... assessment IS moving us toward the goal. It may look like taking a nap, or sitting around doing nothing. But this is where one determines what needs to be done, and how we intend to go about it.

Speaking for myself, I prefer not to rush it.

Address

Here's where we roll up our sleeves and leap into action! Put the plan to work. Git 'er done!

When the assessment is thorough, address rolls along with dispatch. If not, it can be a stop-and-start affair, interleaved with reassessments. That can be okay... suits some tasks better than others.

Appraise

Anke and I spent several years in and around a town, where we served on Emergency Medical Services teams.

After each deployment, the whole team would get together to appraise our response. What went well? What went not so well? What can be improved? Do we need more training in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? Do they need revision? How can we do better?

Appraisal helps to identify mistakes or deficits, and to learn from them.

Mistakes are part of our landscape. If we let them, they can teach us. Without them, our procedures remain narrow and inflexible. They show us where we need to focus, and often, what to do to remedy them.

Mistakes and their appraisal have nothing to do with fault or blame, and everything to do with nudging ourselves toward improved performance. Extended ability. Heightened efficiency...

Procedural, not personal.

*****

These three work together in synergy.

Any one of them, alone, is fairly worthless. All plan is a pipe dream.  All do flounders around. All appraisal is pointless.

Any two is an improvement, but still limited. Assess with address doesn’t learn from mistakes. Assess with appraisal doesn’t accomplish squat. Address with appraisal… hmm… on appraisal we should’ve assessed!

Three's the charm.