Kickoff Meeting

kickoff meeting

One of the most important meetings any small business can hold—especially those working with the federal government—is what I call an Annual Kickoff Meeting. I’ve written a blog about how to hold one of these meetings and the benefits of doing so.

In addition to my work as a consultant and working on my book to help government contractors be successful, I’m also the vice president of corporate strategy for a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. In this position, I remain active in the government contracting world and get to practice what I preach in my writing and consulting.

This has been an important learning opportunity for me working as a leadership team member of a current small business because it allows me to adjust my advice based on the current business environment and the changing workforce profiles. In my role for this company, I was asked to plan and facilitate our kickoff meeting which we held at the end of January. 

I followed my agenda guidance in the blog and the meeting opened with something I advised the president of the company to do—he shared with the leadership team his overall corporate objective, which was the revenue goal at the liquidity event. It was time activated to happen in the tenth year from the company’s founding. 

His sharing his vision got a positive response from the leadership team, then we moved into the agenda: CFO’s 2019 End of Year Financials followed by the COO’s Major Contracts Reviews and 2020 Projections. Then we had a very valuable lunchbreak activity led by our NBD Lead, who launched the following profiling activity including the DOPE – Bird Test, Myers-Briggs Profiling and the Make a Difference Personality Test. 

The outcome from that lunchbreak activity was, in a way, the highlight of the meeting. We all learned about our own personalities as well as those of our colleagues, which led to an enjoyable interchange and conversation among all of us. The positive outcome from this activity was learning how best to work with one another.

The meeting ended with the president sharing the company’s strategic direction and projected 2020 objectives, then he closed with his 2020 Mission and Vision. As has been my experience through the many years I’ve been involved in business, this kickoff meeting was a success as it helped to focus everyone, ensuring everyone knows where we are going and what the plan is to get there.

I encourage you to hold this meeting now if you haven’t yet. Doing so can set you apart from your competition and reinforces your commitment to both your staff’s success and your overall company objective.

If you’ve experienced and been a part of such a meeting, feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations on the subject.