work in progress
The craft 2 min Diagnostic Scope: an inquiry, alone or shared

Twelve years of experience, or the same year twelve times

The symptom

You know your job well. You would like to get better at one thing, but piling up the same situations does not seem to help much any more.

The signal

“Which precise move would I like to master better, and how could I practise it differently?”

What’s going on

Experience brings bearings, reliability, and knowledge of the exceptions. It can also make some moves automatic, to the point where you no longer examine them. That is not enough to conclude you have stalled: a stable practice can serve the need very well.

To choose a direction, look at a difficulty that keeps coming back or a strength you want to deepen. A salesperson may want to explain a price better. Someone in support may work on the first question that helps them understand the request. A designer may want to make a screen clearer with fewer elements.

The exercise becomes useful when the piece is small enough to try, observe and redo. Repeating without feedback can reinforce the same mistake. Conversely, one precise comment can be enough to change the next attempt.

Time and the chance to practise shape what you can learn. If the move depends on an access right or an available colleague, plan for it. A simulated exercise can let you start without putting the cost of your learning on a customer.

Check this

Choose one skill and keep an example of your current work. Set a criterion with a peer, or from a reference that fits: what the recipient understands, the mistake to avoid, or the time a task takes.

Plan two or three short attempts inside the time available, with feedback between them. If you are starting out, take a basic move and ask for a demonstration.

Then compare the first attempt and the last. Note what changed, what is still hard, and whether the exercise is worth continuing. A flat result can lead you to choose another method, or another subject.

From where you sit

To discuss

Which skill would we like to deepen, and what feedback would tell us whether we are moving?

Discuss this