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He say, "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-lookin' 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together - Right now
He say, "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-lookin' 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together - Right now
The Beatles
The Beatles
Sometimes it's not easy to pinpoint a single moment in time when the project starts. Before breaking ground on a new development, Account Executives, pre-sales teams, analysts, and architects are often already weeks or months into their work. Still, at some point, the first (or "zero") Sprint begins, the initial tasks are elaborated and distributed, and the streams and teams take shape. Around this time, a "Kickoff Meeting" is scheduled. Unlike many other project meetings that could be conducted by emails, this one definitely shouldn't! Moreover, even in post-pandemic times, I believe it should be done in person.
To understand the importance of the kickoff, we have to realise that the consulting project team is different from a R&D development team. The project teams are:
Short-lived
Multi-company (Client, Provider, Partner)
Geographically dispersed
These characteristics often make the typical team-building process of Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing (aka FSNP) difficult or not possible without additional help. Let's explore how a face-to-face kickoff can address these challenges.
Constultant hitting the ground running
The project team exists within the constraints of the contract and delivery timelines, often defined in weeks rather than months. This means that the team should start "Performing" almost on day one - "hit the ground running", as the saying goes. That's why, before the project officially starts, handover sessions are organised, sales-to-delivery transitions occur, and "sprint zero" is organised. The amount of information and small organisational matters to be discussed and agreed upon can be staggering. Having a series of meetings (as a whole group or subgroups) helps to expedite the process. These meetings are often ad-hoc in nature - groups form, people walk over to another group to ask for details. What could take weeks using emails, webinars, and all-hands calls can be done in a couple of days by bringing people together in one location.
We should also remember, that Kickoffs are about more than just initial knowledge transfer. Most projects I've been part of in consulting work involved teams built from at least three different entities: our company's consultants, client's delegated resources (SMEs, POs, BAs, developers), and partner-provided specialists (either managing systems we integrated with or providing a workforce for our projects). One of the biggest challenges in such setups is building trust and goal alignment. For project success, it is critically important that people "pull in the same direction" and that you can trust the other person to do their share of pulling - establishing a more personal connection helps in both cases. And there is no quicker way of making these connections than in person.
I recall a project for a client in South America I did some years ago. The project team was spread across multiple countries and separated by an ocean. The logistics of getting everyone in the same place were difficult, so it took some weeks before I was able to meet the team on-site. And some challenging weeks were those! I just couldn't get on the same page with the PO of my team. He seemed to miss the point I was trying to make, we argued about some unimportant details, and we ran in circles trying to wrap up some deliverables. Then, we met face-to-face. It turned out he had similar impressions about my work missing the point! When we spent some time sitting together in front of the screen, and then some more with beer in our hands just chatting, we finally hit it off! We pinpointed the problems with our email writing styles, gained a better understanding of motives behind messages on chat, and could put a face behind a voice on a call. Suddenly, working remotely was possible!
To summarise:
Can a successful project be led without ever seeing or meeting your teammates? Yes, we've all done this during the Covid pandemic.
Is it easy? No.
Is it enjoyable? Hardly.
Does it invoke the same level of "belonging"? Hell no!
Can we fix it? Certainly, the solution is simple: meet face to face. At least once. At least for The Kickoff.
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