Why anything really?
Exactly! The day-to-day humdrum can definitely create a pedantic, ceaselessly plodding rhythm with no differentiation. It is all just a blur. I walk into the office; the phone rings; I answer; someone asks a question and I respond and so on and so forth, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Back to the Question
Why have kickoff meetings?
For one, it allows you to differentiate the day as a special time and the meeting venue as a special place. It also allows the entire organization to come together for a day or half day to kick off the year.
We’ve had kickoffs in an array of places. One year we were in a barn and another year at a swanky Chicago hotel. Banquet facilities are my favorite, though the East Bank Club, a huge Chicago fitness complex, is not bad.
For one of our clients, their annual kickoff meeting is the highlight of their year. Each employee has to go up in front of everyone and answer some fun, preconceived questions. It is all very entertaining and an authentic culture builder. This is especially true when big key employee Carlos with his bushy beard does his annual “THE BIG PICTURE” talk about the company’s growth. It’s the real story and told in the real way.
Stop the Past, Start the Future, Now
For 2011, a kickoff meeting is absolutely critical. A powerful kickoff meeting will allow you and everyone involved to put 2010 behind you. It is one of the best uses of time and money. It is important for the organization to distinguish that indeed there was a 2010 and for most organizations, 2010 meant salary cuts, layoffs and a sense that our survival was at risk. At the kickoff meeting, the past goes into the past.
How we typically do this is to illustrate 2010 on flip charts. The group answers questions and puts these answers up on flip charts too in categories such as “breakdowns,” “what was learned,” “breakthroughs,” “fiascos,” “disappointments,” “accomplishments,” etc. The aspects of 2010 we are taking into 2011 and those are we leaving behind are also included. Then, in front of the room, spokespeople read from the flip charts and there is a question and answer session with questions from the audience.
As a grand finale, participants stand up and say farewell to 2010. Tears flow, (not hugs) and the crowd then greets 2011 with cheers, hand-clapping, hurrahs and gales of laughter. Even when it is not very emotional, it is worthwhile and useful. All stand ready for the future and to begin anew. Game 2011, on.
One of the great aspects of this exercise is that employees get to appreciate everything that happened during the past 12 months. It also brings completion to the year. One season is completed while the possibility of next season opens up.
A Future Vision is Essential
The kickoff allows the leadership to layout and promote a three- to five-year time horizon in broad brush strokes and to more precisely paint the picture for 2011. I subscribe to the idea that what determines how an organization operates in the present is dictated by the future that the organization lives into.
The issue here is that most of us have the organizations past filed in the future file bin. Typically, what the organization is unknowingly doing is living into its past. I wonder if GM, Lehman Brothers or Chrysler has a perspective on this that they would like to share.
The kickoff allows for a distinct future to be created by the leadership group and CEO. At this point, leadership stands and presents the company’s future. Hopefully, this is not something that was created over coffee that morning. Our clients have been working and developing this future over the previous two to three months. This is the culmination of a lot of work and some of the participants have been a part of the planning.
At the kickoff meetings we facilitate, we typically annoy the group with stupid games and other growth and development activities. It is not all lecture and people are not just sitting there like they are watching TV. There is a lot you can do with exercises to foster good customer service and strong relationships. At one meeting we rolled out a new set of values and led exercises that allowed people to experience the new values directly by interacting with each other.
At other kickoffs I’ve been a part of, leadership has laid out what it is going to take for everyone to go Las Vegas or Cancun, complete with props and skits. In both cases, the company’s employees actually did go to their respective destinations as a celebration of their accomplishments. It all started at the kickoff meeting.
Get Up & Running Immediately
After the leadership presentation, there is typically an opportunity for the various departments to plan by delineating how to improve and grow in order to deliver on the company’s future. The departments get to look at their strengths and weakness and what they need to do to develop and improve in their areas of weakness.
There is a lot that can be done during a kickoff meeting to help departments build cohesion and momentum. We have great exercises that encourage participants to give each other useful feedback on how they can improve internal customer service. Whoever is facilitating sets up the ground rule that this is business, not personal.
Everyone should embrace the idea of constant improvement as the bottom line. When a positive context is established, unresolved issues can be explored and clarified. In addition to strength and weakness feedback, the department will design 2011 objectives, action plans and first-quarter milestones that support the overall direction.
During a kickoff, new information can be given to the members of the organization. If lean initiatives are going to be part of the year or a new ERP or other software is being implemented, the kick off meeting is a perfect time to get started with training. Why not use the opportunity? We are all together for the day—lunch included—and the new year has begun. So let’s go for it and make the whole kickoff wildly productive!
So There You Have It
Now let’s re-cap. Why kickoff business meetings?
• They let you put the past in the past.
• They let you create a future to live into.
• They provide an opportunity for departmental planning .
• You can begin training and educational initiatives.
• All this along with stupid games and other fun annoyances.
Such a deal!
So do it. Especially do it this year, because I promise 2011 is not going to be anything like 2010 and you can hold me to it.
The real question is: Will you and your organization be ready for the opportunities of the New Year?
Let us know how it goes. We would love to hear about your progress and breakthroughs.
Game 2011 on.
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