“Planned Retreat – necessary and timely”

I recall shortly after my father died one of his closest friends, a childhood friend in fact, telling my brother and me, “I will do everything I can to help you. I will get you to the door, but you will have to walk through it.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten those words. Getting to the door of opportunity, the door of possibilities remains only part of the equation of life however. Walking through the door, taking a risk knowing full well that not everything that presents itself as an opportunity or possibility is for you is the second part of the equation.

Additionally, both my brother and I have learned that taking risk – acting on the opportunity and possibility is challenging and results sometimes in set backs or even failure – not the end of the world.

We also learned to minimize or at least reduce the likelihood of failure with opportunity and possibility by planning for it.

Presently if feels like we have surrendered – surrendered to status quo – of what used to be or what is familiar or convenient. Surrender is first giving in before giving up – quitting!

Last week I emphasized the obvious; the need for a plan. Making, implementing, monitoring, and assessing a plan is essential. Most planning processes however miss a critical component, strategy if you will – an exit strategy. Every plan must include strategies for contingencies including an exit or retreat.

We have heard countless stories from business, faith, civic life, and etc. about failure, persevering, and succeeding. Most often the common experience in these stories of each individual that encounters set backs, failure if you will is that they don’t give up – they retreat, rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage. They may lose sight, lose vision, or lose conviction momentarily but they never fully surrender to failure.

Retreat however is something entirely different. In fact, retreat is an opportunity with possibilities.

The purpose of retreat is often mistaken as a sign of weakness. This isn’t necessarily accurate.

We need to retreat not surrender!

Just this last week in a conversation with Department of Public Instruction Transformation supervisors I shared one of the most fascinating facts of military history. It is recorded that five times in the history of warfare that an army fully engaged in battle disengaged, withdrew, and retreated, from conflict to rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage to become victorious. Imagine if you can this sequence – fully engaged, retreat, and fully reengage.

Retreat takes intentionality. It takes planning.

There are times that retreat is unplanned, haphazard and desperate. Generally speaking, retreat in this manner is due more or less to poor planning, poor preparation, and poor execution. I don’t want to minimize that there are factors and circumstances in battle as in life that cannot be controlled or planned for that may require retreat. Yet, planning, preparation, implementation or execution or the lack of is more often or not the major contributing factor to an objective, goal, strategy, opportunity or possibility not being met.

Though I have offered previously that retreat is not a sign of weakness and an extremely important, essential tactic, there is nonetheless a psychology that can work against the very objectives you desire to achieve through retreat - rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, and reorganize to reengage.

Retreat can be demoralizing and defeating not to mention devastating.

Retreat or more importantly how you retreat is critical to the emotions, perceptions, and motivators of each individual as well as the organization collective.

The impact or influence of emotion, perception and motivation will either deter, delay, obstruct, undermine, or sabotage opportunities and possibilities or will ensure that opportunities and possibilities are seized, embraced, championed, or accomplished.

As mentioned, planning was key to a successful, effective retreat. What I haven’t mentioned is that underpinning the effective and successful planning of each of the aforementioned retreats were engagement, involvement and participation of all those impacted and affected.

In many respects where programs, initiatives, and strategies have not yielded the results we expect or desire, we need to retreat. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that through rest, recreation, reassessment, repurposing, and reorganizing that we have a plan to reengage in this present work.

It is hard, difficult to retreat in the middle of full engagement but we must.

Remember, retreat must be planned to be effective. Next week I will layout our planned retreat so we can reengage in the work to seize the opportunities and possibilities.