The Importance of the Kickoff
Darryl Godfrey
A senior project manager with 20 years plus experience in pharma, TIC, consumer products and digital media.
In the rush to get moving on a program or project, it's all too easy to skip the kickoff or to minimise it. I think that's a bad mistake and would like to explain why.
The fundamental goal of the kickoff is to ensure that everyone involved in the program or project knows what's going on and who's who.
In short, it's about ensuring that everyone understands the reasons for the work, what the specific goals are and what the plan looks like. The kickoff might be the only opportunity to get everyone "around the table", even if it's a virtual table, so it's an important event.
Who should attend? I always suggest that the answer is simple: "everyone". "Everyone" means all active project participants including the sponsor, program/project team, the IS/IT function and any other affected functions, consultants and any other significant suppliers.
An approach which is especially effective to have the program or project senior representative give an introduction. For a project, this person might be the sponsor. For a transformation program it should be the CEO or equivalent.
Following that introduction, typically the program or project manager takes the facilitating role, introducing the specific objectives, plans and deliverables and most importantly introducing other participants (often it's the first time that people actually meet each other) and asking them to present their role and responsibilities.
When a kickoff goes well everyone is clear and aligned. They know what's expected of them and how the work will proceed. Perhaps above all, they know why the program or project exists and what the organisation expects to get out of it. This is a very powerful position to be in and is the beginning of business change management.
Simple stuff, and very effective but all too often ignored.
Business Enabler | Professional Problem Solver | Director of the change | Mapping and executing transformations of all sizes and types
3 年I find that the biggest breakdown on the kick off is timing. Too often this meeting is held too early (before even go ahead approval), usually when roles and objectives can still be fluid. What other issues would you say to be aware of in the kickoff?