CHASING THE BRASSAN INDEPENDENT FIELD JOURNAL
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mindset · Field note 002

Practice the Adjustment

A rehearsal becomes useful when it teaches you what to notice—and when to change course.

By Chasing the Brass · September 11, 2026 · 1 min read

A rehearsal can go perfectly and still teach you very little. Everyone knows the order. The equipment is where it belongs. Nobody has to change a decision.

Try giving the next rehearsal a question to answer. What information would cause you to pause? Who needs to hear about a change? Which part of the plan depends on an assumption you have not tested?

Change one condition

For a routine team exercise, imagine that the usual contact is unavailable. Ask the team to identify an alternative and explain why it would work. Keep the exercise bounded, reversible, and separate from any real emergency.

Afterward, compare the answers. The interesting part may be a disagreement about who actually owns the decision.

Listen to the explanation

Ask what people noticed before asking what they did. A correct action taken for the wrong reason deserves attention. So does a sensible decision that produced an unexpected outcome.

Record one assumption to test next time. That gives the next rehearsal a purpose beyond repeating the previous one.

The useful result is a clearer understanding of what makes you adjust.

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