“Anyone can have experience, but not all are seasoned. Seasoned is the adjective used for people who have lived, learned, and internalized the lessons found in their rich and beneficial experience.” You see these words on the ATLAS website defining what seasoned means.
Paraphrased by Winston Churchill, writer, and philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We have all heard versions of this quote. Learning our lessons from history etc.
You could say the reality is that humanity, learning or not learning from history, continues to repeat history with multiple world wars, other conflicts, dictators, and inhumane treatment of each other, therefore the statement is meaningless. Or it may just be that humans are prone to a certain irrationality which at times takes us down the wrong paths, repeatedly.
Either way, does it matter if we really try to understand our experiences? The answer is yes. Becoming seasoned is not just having the experience and moving on, it’s really taking that experience apart, looking at it from various perspectives, and understanding the parameters, the driving influences, and the outcome at the time. The analysis is not simply binary, “Did this, outcome good; therefore, this is good”
Everyone has lived (experienced things); maybe some, or most, have simply learned by living. But how many have truly internalized the experience in terms of more than just the outcome? Ask yourself what could have worked if the parameters were different? What if there was more time? What if we looked at different contract delivery methodologies? What if we had done more due diligence? To be seasoned, you must ask those types of questions, truly understand that experience, and internalize it. Here are five points to remember...
1) Seek understanding over assumption...
2) Communicate clearly, succinctly, and often ...
3) Think in terms of work-streams and systems...
4) Question everything, don't immediately go to the default position.
5) Understand, and challenge processes and outcomes.
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