Wedding Day Coordination

A lot of the value of attending or speaking at a conference doesn’t come from being there. It comes from what you do afterwards. How many times have you come back from a conference or event and thought, “I should’ve done more to maximize that experience”? Not just attending the sessions or showing up at the networking receptions, but turning it into something meaningful for your visibility, your relationships and your business development efforts. Me too 🙋🏼♀️ It’s easy to get caught up in our busy lives, especially after returning from a conference and then move on to the next thing without following up. What you proactively do after the event is what can turn conversations into relationships and visibility into opportunity. Here are some ways to make the most of attending your next conference: ✔️ Prioritize the people you met and follow up with context on LinkedIn or by email, referencing your conversation and suggesting a clear next step ✔️ Follow up with organizers to share feedback and express interest in speaking or getting involved in future programming ✔️ Turn your conference notes into key takeaways and share them as content (LinkedIn post, blog post or short video) connected to your work, your clients or what you’re seeing in the market ✔️ Host your own webinar to recap key themes and extend the conversation ✔️ Interview speakers or attendees whose perspectives stood out and use that content in a webinar, blog post or on social media ✔️ Host an internal recap to share key insights and connect them to your team’s work ✔️ Turn questions or conversations from the event into content or targeted outreach ✔️ Share insights from the event in an email newsletter ✔️ Add relevant new contacts to your email list so you can stay visible with them ✔️ Create a simple system to stay in touch with the people who matter most ✔️ Review the attendee list and reach out to people you didn’t meet ✔️ Follow up with speakers you admired, even if you didn’t connect in person ✔️ Identify one trend or theme you kept hearing across conversations and proactively share that perspective with clients or colleagues You already put in the time and energy to be there. This is how you carry that momentum forward. Which of these ideas resonated most with you? #LegalMarketing #ClientDevelopment #LinkedInTips #BusinessDevelopment #PersonalBrandingTips

Most teams don’t get better because they don’t take time to debrief. Last year, I had the honor of doing a bunch of leadership development work alongside my dear friend and amigo, Michael French. He’s a multi-time founder with successful exits, a fantastic family, and a heart of gold. One of the most powerful tools we taught together (really he, Michael O'Brien, and Admiral Mike McCabe taught, and I amplified in my sessions) was the concept of a Topgun-style debrief — and then we practiced it ourselves after every single session as a group. It’s a simple but transformative ritual. After every experience, we’d ask each other: What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions will we take to be even better next time? That’s it. Just three questions. But when asked in a space of trust, it opens the door to continuous improvement, honest reflection, and shared learning. The coolest part? Michael started doing it at home with his son — and now his son comes home from school excited to debrief the day with his dad. That’s when you know the tool is working. The origins of this approach go back to the Navy Fighter Weapons School — better known as Topgun. In the 1960s, Navy pilots were underperforming in air combat. So they changed the way they trained. But more importantly, they changed the way they debriefed. They created a culture of constructive, positive, inclusive performance reviews — grounded in trust, openness, and the pursuit of excellence. Led to a 400% improvement in pilot effectiveness. The philosophy was clear: the debrief is not about blame or fault-finding. It’s not about who “won” the debrief. It’s about learning. It’s about getting better — together. The tone is collaborative, supportive, and often informal. The goal is to build a culture of reflection where people feel safe enough to speak, to listen, and to grow. Most organizations only do debriefs when something goes wrong. But if we wait for failure to reflect, we miss all the micro-moments that help us move from good to great. Excellence isn’t a destination. It’s a mindset. It’s the discipline of always being open to improvement — even when things are going well. Especially when things are going well. So here’s my nudge to you: give this a try. Whether it’s with your team, your family, your partner, or just yourself at the end of the day — ask those three simple questions. What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions can we take to be even better next time? Let me know if you do. I’d love to hear how it goes.

Founder-Led Sales Bootcamp #19: Sales call post-mortem – Learn from every loss Early-stage founders spend hours obsessing over pitch decks, demos, pricing, features… But barely spend 5 minutes reflecting on the calls that didn’t go well. And that’s a massive missed opportunity. Because every "bad call" is a goldmine of learnings, patterns, and clarity on how not to lose the next one. You don’t need a sales coach yet. You need a mirror. Here’s the reality - you’re going to: - Talk too much - Miss buying signals - Forget to ask about timeline - Not loop in the right stakeholder - Pitch before you understood the pain It happens. The pros? They review those moments. Then they never repeat them. 🧠 The 5-Min Post-Call Debrief After every sales call, especially the awkward ones, ask yourself: - Did I start with their world or mine? If you opened with a pitch instead of a question, you missed the mark. - What didn’t I uncover? Budget? Timeline? Decision process? What’s still unknown and why? - Did I uncover a real pain? Was the need specific, or just surface-level interest? - What signals did I ignore? Were they distracted? Did they hesitate on pricing? What was said between the lines? - What would I do differently next time? This is where the learning compounds. Write it down. - Review calls together Even if you’re a solo founder, rope in a teammate, investor or advisor and play back 1 call per week. External ears = brutal honesty = better seller. Quick Action Plan: 💡Add a "Debrief" section to your CRM notes after every call. 💡Build a Notion template with the 5 questions above - make reflection a habit. 💡Start a folder of "Great Calls" and "Tough Calls." Replay them. With so many call recording/note taking AI tools on the market you can get transcriptions and summaries super easily and quickly so there is no excuse - even for busy founders.

One of the greatest strengths of the SEAL Teams, that often isn't apparent in movies or TV shows, is not the high-speed technology or rigorous physical fitness. It’s our ability to constantly innovate and adapt. We do this through a simple process: The DEBRIEF. After every mission, we’d review what went right, what went wrong, and what could to do to fix it. We'd take those lessons learned and roll them right into the planning and execution of the very next mission. And then repeat that process. But this tool isn’t limited to the military. The Debrief is one of the most underrated tools for performance improvement for any team. By getting your team together at the end of any project, work week, or training evolution, you can encourage everyone on your team to come up with ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness going forward. Here are a few guidelines to make it work for your team: 1. Let people know ahead of time to come up with at least two things: one thing that went well and one thing they think could be improved. 2. Take notes. This shows the team that their feedback matters and that lessons learned aren’t just lip service. 3. Have the most junior person speak first. Junior members bring a fresh perspective and, if they speak first, are less likely to be influenced by what others say. If they speak later, they might just echo the thoughts of more senior team members. Debriefs do more than identify areas for improvement. They build a culture of innovation, of continuous learning and improvement.

Sometimes CISO value is proven via security incident 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮:𝟰𝟳 𝗣𝗠: 𝗘𝗗𝗥 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁: Suspicious encryption activity detected 𝟮:𝟰𝟴 𝗣𝗠: Automated playbook triggered 𝟮:𝟰𝟵 𝗣𝗠: Affected system isolated 𝟮:𝟱𝟬 𝗣𝗠: Incident team assembled (on Slack) 𝟮:𝟱𝟱 𝗣𝗠: Forensics collection started 𝟯:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠: CEO briefed 𝗕𝘆 𝟯:𝟯𝟬 𝗣𝗠: Ransomware contained to 3 machines, no data loss, no spread 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗺𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲: 'We've encrypted your systems. Pay $500k in 48 hours or we leak your data.' 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲: 'We detected and contained your ransomware in 13 minutes. We have offline backups. We have no encrypted data. We've preserved forensic evidence and reported you to FBI.' 'You have no leverage. Goodbye.' They never responded. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 18 months ago, I proposed: → EDR on all endpoints ($80k) → Incident response playbooks → Offline backup system ($50k) → IR tabletop exercises (quarterly) → Forensics tools and training 𝗖𝗙𝗢 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: 'That's expensive for something that might never happen.' 𝗠𝗲: 'It's insurance. We'll be glad we have it.' 𝗖𝗙𝗢: Reluctantly approved 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: 𝗖𝗘𝗢: 'Walk me through what happened.' 𝗠𝗲: 'Everything we practiced in tabletop exercises. EDR caught it. Playbook executed. Team performed perfectly. Backups worked. No data loss. Total cost: $15k in investigation and remediation.' 𝗖𝗘𝗢: 'What would this have cost without those investments?' 𝗠𝗲: 'Average ransomware incident: $1.85M. Plus downtime, recovery, reputation damage. Conservatively? $3M-$5M.' 𝗖𝗘𝗢: 'So that $130k investment saved us $3M+?' 𝗠𝗲: 'At minimum.' 𝗖𝗘𝗢 (𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱): 'This is why we invest in security.' 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳: 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀. That the team executed flawlessly. → Junior analyst who spotted the alert: Followed procedure perfectly → Senior engineer who led response: Calm, methodical, documented everything → IT team: Isolated systems without hesitation → Communications lead: Kept stakeholders informed Everyone knew their role Everyone performed That's what preparation looks like 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱: Security isn't just prevention. It's preparation for the inevitable. You can't prevent every attack. But you can: → Detect it fast → Contain it effectively → Recover quickly → Learn from it That's what resilience looks like 𝗧𝗼 𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗢𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 Make sure when that day comes: → Tools are in place → Team is trained → Playbooks are practiced → Leadership is prepared Because that's the day that defines your program Have you had an incident that proved your program value? SOC(k) game remains faultless in 2026 curtesy of Anecdotes #ciso #cybersecurity #technology #ransomware #prevention #leadership #support #budget

If you think a debrief is only about receiving feedback, I've got news for you. You're overlooking the most important part of the learning process. Too often, debriefs are treated as a one-way download. The instructor talks at you. You listen and nod. Then move on. But how useful is that really? Modern debriefs aren’t about a red pen and a list of errors. They’re about learning how to think about your own performance. The instructo'rs role is to guide that learning. Nothing more. Because improvement doesn’t come from being given answers. It comes from understanding why things happened and what you’ll do differently next time. Here are 7 simple questions cadets (and instructors) can use after any sim to unlock real value and learning: 1️⃣ What happened and why? ⮑ Describe things objectively. No judgement, no excuses. If you can’t explain why something happened, you don’t understand it yet. 2️⃣ What worked well, what didn’t? ⮑ Don’t skip the positives. Good decisions and actions under pressure need reinforcing just as much as errors need correcting. 3️⃣ How do we repeat, or avoid this, next time? ⮑ Identify what to repeat and what to change. Insight only matters if it shapes your future behaviour. 4️⃣ How was your capacity? ⮑ Most sim problems aren’t technical. They’re capacity problems that show up when pressure increases. The key is understanding why. 5️⃣ Was safety impacted? If so, how? ⮑ Think in margins, rather than outcomes. A safe landing doesn’t automatically mean the situation was handled safely — but recognising strong safety margins matters too. 6️⃣ What patterns are emerging? ⮑ A single event may mean very little. Repeated behaviours tell you what habits are forming. 7️⃣ What do you want to work on before next time? ⮑ Cadets already have plenty to manage. A long to do list just creates overload. So agree on one specific focus area. Remember: Feedback is just data. It’s not personal. What matters is what you do with it. What's your favourite debrief question?

Don’t end your session without this… 🛑✋ One of the most common criticisms of icebreaker activities - or any playful exercise, even if it’s framed as a “serious game” - is that they’re a waste of time. And honestly? That criticism is often valid. Not because the activity itself isn’t valuable… but because facilitators skip the most crucial part: 🧠 The debrief. Without reflection, the group misses the why. The experience stays surface-level. And all that potential for insight, connection, and growth? Gone. After the activity, the fun is fading, the adrenaline is dropping… and this is exactly when most facilitators move on. But the best ones? They pause and help the group make meaning. With just a few minutes of thoughtful debriefing, everything shifts. You give participants a chance to slow down, make meaning, and apply what they’ve just felt, learned, or experienced. Because it’s not the activity itself that creates transformation, it’s what we learn from it. I was recently reminded of a debrief activity called the "Traffic Light" after watching a video by Mark Collard, which I would love to share: Instructions 📋 1. Create three spaces (physically or metaphorically) based on the colours of a traffic light: red, yellow, and green. For in-person meetings, mark the spaces using coloured tape (maybe ⭕️🪄 Matthias has a fun #Facilitape Tip for us?) on the floor or place three papers labelled “Red,” “Yellow,” and “Green.” 2. Guide the whole group from one space to the next and ask: 🟢 Green – What should we continue doing that’s working well? 🟡 Yellow – What should we pay attention to or approach with caution? 🔴 Red – What should we stop doing that’s not helping? 3. With enough time, you could also have participants pair up for a conversation about each question, then invite them to share their thoughts in the larger group. But, here’s the key: For the best outcome, adjust the questions based on your activity and debriefing purpose. Here are a few more examples: After a new team experience: 🟢 What behaviours helped us work well together? 🔴 What slowed us down? 🟡 What worked… sometimes? Midway through a retreat or training: 🟢 What’s energizing you so far? 🔴 What’s feeling unclear or overwhelming? 🟡 What’s worth revisiting? After a tough discussion: 🟢 What helped you feel heard? 🔴 What felt off or uncomfortable? 🟡 What might be worth exploring more deeply? What I love about it is that it engages the whole group (especially when you incorporate movement from one space to the next), and it provides people with a safe structure to share honest feedback. Also, I often start with green, move to red, and end with yellow. This way, we always start with something positive and don’t finish on a negative note. 👉 What are your favourite debriefing activities and methods? #facilitationtips #icemeltersbook

A lot of trainers run a great exercise… and then waste the learning moment that follows. The debrief is where performance improvement actually happens. But too often we get generic reflections: “Yeah, that was good” or “Interesting exercise.” None of that helps anyone perform better back on the job. A simple tool I use in almost every session, face-to-face or virtual, is the Feedback Grid. It structures the debrief so delegates can evaluate the outcomes of an exercise, not just how it felt. Here’s exactly how to use it straight after an activity: 1. Set up the 4 quadrants before the exercise Worked Well (+) Needs Change (Δ) Questions (?) New Ideas (💡) By having it visible from the start, delegates know there will be a structured review, not a free-for-all discussion. 2. Immediately after the exercise, ask individuals to add notes Give everyone 2–3 minutes to jot down their thoughts in each category. This stops dominant voices from setting the tone and gives you a broader view of what actually happened. In a virtual room, this is as simple as shared online sticky notes. Face-to-face, use flipcharts or a whiteboard. 3. Analyse the activity, not the activity’s “vibe” This is where most trainers go wrong. We’re not asking whether they “liked” the exercise. We’re capturing what the exercise showed about their skills, behaviours, and decision-making. Examples might include: Worked Well: “Clearer roles helped us move faster.” Needs Change: “We didn’t communicate early enough.” Questions: “How do we apply this under time pressure?” New Ideas: “Create a decision checklist before starting.” These are performance insights, not opinions. 4. Turn the grid into next-step actions Once patterns emerge, summarise 2–3 practical actions they can take into the workplace. This is where the ROI sits. The exercise becomes a rehearsal, and the grid becomes the bridge to real work. 5. Keep the pace tight A structured debrief shouldn’t drag. Five to eight minutes is enough to turn a simple exercise into a meaningful learning moment. When used properly, the Feedback Grid transforms exercises from “fun activities” into performance diagnostics. That’s the whole point of training, to improve what people do, not what they think about the training. What do you use for this? -------------------- Follow me at Sean McPheat for more L&D content and then hit the 🔔 button to stay updated on my future posts. ♻️ Save for later and repost to help others. 📄 Download a high-res PDF of this & 250 other infographics at: https://lnkd.in/eWPjAjV7

A colleague recently shared their experience from a race literacy workshop. During the session, someone- a white man- made inflammatory, non-factual statements about race and religion. My colleague responded in the moment, but the emotional impact lingered with her for days. To be honest, that conversation was a sharp reminder to me. As someone who designs and delivers workshops on sensitive behaviour change topics such as addressing inappropriate behaviour and inclusive cultures, I do take care to create respectful environments for my participants. But I haven't always been consistently diligent about checking in with them before they leave or ensuring they know debriefing support is available. 🤔 So it got me thinking. For facilitators and event organisers working with potentially triggering content, how do we ensure duty of care to our audience? How do we prevent participants from leaving workshops carrying emotional weight for days, while others may have already moved on? 📌 Here are some considerations. For some people, topics like race equity may be abstract concepts to explore and then set aside. For others, however, they represent lived experience, a reality that doesn't end when the workshop does. It is a constant part of their life every minute, every day, throughout their life. I’ve said this elsewhere and it bears repeating- lived experience isn't a shawl we can put on and remove at will. They're not just 'insights' to be shared. When we bring people together to discuss these topics, we have a responsibility to recognise the potential for trauma and re-traumatisation, and to provide appropriate support. I've attended events where facilitators end by checking in with everyone and making themselves available for debriefing. That simple gesture always felt reassuring, and I believe made a significant difference. 🎯 As Black History Month begins today, I know there’ll be lots of events bringing together people with lived experience of race. If you're organising these spaces, please ensure duty of care towards your speakers and audience: 👉 Don't assume speakers will be fine after sharing their experiences. 👉 Don't assume audiences won't be triggered by what they hear. 👉 Build in check-ins during and after your events. 👉 Make debriefing opportunities clearly available. It’s the right thing to do.

Let's stop debating who owns event follow-up. Because you're solving the wrong problem. I've been in those post-event meetings. Marketing says sales didn't follow up fast enough. Sales says the leads weren't qualified. Everyone points fingers. Nothing changes. Here's what I've learned after years of running events: the ownership question is a distraction. The real problem is context evaporating before anyone can act on it. Think about it. Your rep has a killer conversation at the booth. Gets back to the hotel. Checks email. Has dinner. Flies home. By Monday morning, that conversation is a blur. Name, company, maybe a vague note in a spreadsheet. Now they're supposed to write a personalized follow-up? Good luck. The solution isn't assigning owners earlier. It's about capturing context before it disappears. Here's what actually works: → 15-minute debrief before anyone leaves the venue → Every rep records a voice note for each priority conversation → Raw context while it's still fresh That's it. No fancy system needed. Just capture the moment. Why this works: 1. You get the real details. Not sanitized CRM notes written three days later. 2. Follow-up becomes delegatable. Anyone can listen to that voice note and write a solid email. 3. It eliminates the "I forgot what we talked about" excuse. Because you literally have a recording. Effective follow-up isn't about who sends it. It's about having something valuable to say. And you can't say something valuable if you can't remember the conversation. Next event, try this. Debrief on-site. Voice notes for every meaningful conversation. Then watch what happens to your follow-up quality. What's your system for capturing context before it disappears?