The Red Team methodology is one concept that we have seen have an impact across strategies, across departments, across roles. Please take a moment, learn more, as we hope it provides a new way of thought to take to your various stakeholders, or even for your own individual perspective and use.  

Red Team(ing) is a newer concept in business that was originally developed in the military and intelligence worlds (post 9/11) to help stress test strategies, vet plans and seek improvements by challenging assumptions.  Today, it is becoming a go-to practice in business across divisions and roles, as companies have begun to adopt it. 

The Red Team methodology is different from other management tools, as it involves an element of deliberate challenge to any and all assumptions.  This ‘key assumptions check,’ as it’s called, is meant to evoke a discussion, as a team, or, on an individual level, to contribute honest feedback.  It is where one literally asks: “If this "x" goes wrong, how will it go wrong?” By doing such deliberate check-ins, a robust discussion about the risks and the opportunities becomes inherent. It ensures that assumptions are valid and will remain valid under all (potential) circumstances.

Red Teaming also vets what isn’t known – not just in threats/competition, but also in potential opportunities. 

Often, in business, plans are green-lighted without a thorough and thoughtful analysis (from all sources) of the risks, and its real opportunities. Most conversations are around how the strategy will go well and the reasons to do it.  But, do conversations ask, “what and how it will go wrong?” Enthusiasm and excitement are great, but it could mean a downfall later. 

At its core, the Red Team concept is rooted in cognitive psychology and human decision-making, as we all have biases, loss aversion and inherently take mental shortcuts first when confronted with a new challenge. Instead, Red Teaming uses objective analysis by seeking all relative data, from all sources. 

Another effective Red Team tactic is: ‘pre-mortem analysis.’  Imagine it’s a year from now (or two years, pending the project) and the project has failed miserably – ask “How did that happen?” Again, Its purpose is to illustrate the ways it can fail, so that they can be addressed now, red flags can be seen, gaps can be closed and adjustments can be made more quickly.  

In other words, by implementing a Red Team methodology, it underscores Success for a project, a team and the company.  

The mission of any learning, education and training department is to create an environment of preparedness for employees. The Red Team methodology is a way to be on the offense and be sure that any strategies, ideas and plans are as fool-proof, as possible – to create this intended consequence.   

Collaboration is also at its core, as Red Teaming supports a culture of social learning. Likewise, a Red Team approach generates a team-building effect, as it leads to an understanding of roles and how each role is critical to accomplishing overall goals. 

Many roles today, particularly sales, offer high-stress, fluid and challenging situations, where team members must be good improvisers, creative thinkers and always keep the end goal in mind. Red Teaming empowers strategic, effective problem solving. 

Effective, Successful Teams include all backgrounds, cultures and levels of experience – with the one commonality to meet the goal, at hand.  “As in the military, service members are expected to collaborate, respect and work well with others, as well as motivate and inspire one another if they are going to succeed – and, often, even to survive.” (Sharon Gillenwater, Selling Power Magazine) Sales teams, for instance, find success if these same skills – and values – of teamwork are employed.

From technology to emotional intelligence, there are always additional skills specific to your role that must be learned in order to jump in, assist and succeed.  Again, it’s okay if your initial skill set is different than your current role; learning is a positive and different backgrounds/perspectives are always a plus in achieving goals. 

Again, in the military, troops are trained to accept full responsibility and accountability for their actions. Similarly, you want your employees, your sales personnel that are accountable for success, be as much accountable when things go awry. By being accountable, lessons are learned and solutions are found.

Whether a team is together in the office, or a remote workforce, a Red Team approach can be effective and reaped in ultimate rewards.  Mobile learning tools support and enable the practice. 

To experience how the Scrimmage Sales Enablement & Mobile Training platform can be utilized in conjunction with a Red Team strategy, please click here for a demo today! 

(RED) was founded in 2006 to harness the power of people and companies to help fight HIV/AIDS across 8 African nations, including Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia, impacting the lives of over 90 million people. 

Like the (RED) partners from the world’s most iconic brands, Scrimmage also pledges its support in the following ways: 

First, as numerous companies, including Salesforce and Apple, have pledged a percentage of their revenues, Scrimmage pledges 1% of all New Business (February 22, 2018 to March 22, 2018) to (RED). 

Second, Scrimmage, through Scrimmage Gives Back, will donate $100 for each Demo requested and scheduled between February 22, 2018 and March 22, 2018. Schedule A Demo Now, Discover More New Learning Solutions & Make A Difference: http://go.wescrimmage.com/demo   

Third, through our #RedTeam contest, Weekly & Grand Prizes include (RED) products that directly support the (RED) initiatives.  Join Us Now And Win, Click Here. 

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SCRIMMAGE is a modern technology firm featuring the latest mobile learning, engagement and collaboration tools serving global businesses from Fortune 100 companies to SMBs. The company works closely with its clients to build a customized, scalable and secure platform for all static and dynamic content, along with a full suite of award-winning learning solutions, including gamification, social collaboration and robust data reporting. Founded in 2010, Scrimmage has enjoyed over 525M platform interactions on a worldwide basis to more than 50 enterprise clients across a spectrum of industries.  To Demo the mobile platform, please click here.  http://go.wescrimmage.com/demo