25% Faster Teams & Projects

Author: Kevan Hall

It’s that time of year again, when objectives, budgets and targets are set for next year. People are looking back over 2005 and looking forward to 2006. It is as though all the clocks reset on the 31st December and life starts again in January.

Whilst it is healthy to have that year end “dip” and a break from the action to ready us for a new year, the risk is that this can lead intoi a slow start to 2006.

In our work with Remote and Virtual teams and projects, we have found that the single best way to speed up your activities is to focus on a good quality kick-off.

This can accelerate your project by 25% or more – we have seen this scale of improvement consistently from major outsourcing projects lasting many months, through to short IT projects lasting a few days. A 25% speed improvement translates into earlier deliverables, lower costs and more motivated people.

Why do kick-offs have this effect? The major time saving comes from early clarity about goals, direction and next steps - this gets people working quickly in the right direction. Many teams do not seem clear about their objectives until February or March and have already lost the energy and impetus of a flying start to the year.

Sometimes this is not within your control, perhaps the budget is not agreed or objectives are changing. However, what is in your control is to arrange an effective kick-off as soon as objectives are clear. If your objectives are rolling over from last year it is still worth meeting and refocusing the team on what they need to achieve.

If you only have one chance to get together in the course of 2006 we recommend you do it early in the year. Participants on our training tell us that a well run kick off includes clarity of objectives; building relationships with new members, understanding constraints and resources, being clear about how we will work together and seeing the “big picture” that the work fits into.

To get maximum benefit from the kick off it is essential that people leave knowing what the next steps are for them personally. The minute people are back at work we want them to be able to begin.

If your team does not get together very often then you also need to provide time to reconnect and rebuild relationships. It is tempting to fill the day with PowerPoint presentations but the real value is in discussion and understanding, not viewing facts that we can send round by email.

So make sure you have set a date for a kick-off early next year, it is the single best thing you can do to ensure a good start to 2006.

We can help by providing skilled and entertaining facilitators and practical tools to enhance your kick-off.

Call us now to book your event and deliver 25% faster in 2006.

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Last updated: 09/01/06 11:52am