I Hate Sports, But I Love Kickoffs: Laying the Framework for the Perfect Project in The First Meeting
You don't get a second chance to make a great first impression. Have your
project kickoff meetings become stale, remote, or awkward conversations? After
having one too many unproductive (and occasionally sleepy) kickoffs, Happy Cog
reinvented it's project definition process around full-day, interactive
activities and collaborative design exercises. Kevin M. Hoffman will explore
approaches for identifying business strategy, company culture, and project
risks before you even shake your client's hand for the first time, and then
walk you through the strategy behind Happy Cog's kickoff processes for clients
like Zappos.com, Georgetown University, and the National Holocaust Museum.
About Happy Cog
Founded by visionary Jeffrey Zeldman and staffed by creative superstars, Happy
Cog delivers beautiful websites that never lose sight of the human being using
them. From site structure to interface design, from branding to content
development, Happy Cog’s people are the authorities. Visit us at
www.happycog.com.
About Kevin
Kevin M. Hoffman is the Experience Director at Happy Cog East, located in
Philadelphia, PA. Prior to joining Happy Cog, Kevin spent more than a decade
building websites, developing online strategies, and leading projects for
colleges, universities, and non-profits in Baltimore, MD. He has been a
consistent voice for intelligent communication strategies and an expert
consensus builder in environments where vastly differing, passionate opinions
were the norm.
comments
This is so foundational. We have to carve out the proper working relationship for the work to flourish. I think it will be useful just to hear what tactical techniques you recommend to get at understanding these underlying influences up front.
Thanks Jennifer, and agreed! Working relationships are an unpredictable mix of skill sets, corporate culture, personalities, and vision. I hope to touch on some of the stuff we do to both evaluate fit and identify risks in those areas.
I'd love to learn how to make kick-off meetings more fun and effective. Some specific topics and practical ideas I'm interested in are:
* how/what to prepare in advance
* what to cover during the meeting
* how to start off the meeting effectively
* how to discuss/negotiate time lines, deadlines, etc.
* how to close the meeting
Thanks Kevin! Looking forward to it!
Jill Christ
Hi Jill! Thanks for your commments. I will definitely cover those topics in limited detail, with references for more resources on the topic.
Apparently, I also love really long presentation titles.
So what kinds of specific topics and practical ideas would attendees find useful under this umbrella?