Ep 45 kick-off meeting

So here we are. We've gone through the first two phases of the project lifecycle initiation, where the
project foundations are laid and a project manager is appointed and planning where the project
manager uses their many skills to create a superb project plan. So what next? Well, If this was a skiing
trip, you'd be at the point where you've prepared the holiday, got the time off work, and saved up
enough money.

You've got all your equipment on, watched hours of how to ski videos on YouTube. You've mentally
prepared yourself on the journey up the ski lift, and you are now standing at the top of the slope. You've
done everything humanly possible to get ready, but now it's time to push yourself down the hill and see
what your efforts amount to.

In project management vernacular, this hill is called execution, so try not to fly headfirst into a tree, as
we said over and over again. The more detailed the plan, the easier the execution. Note that I am saying
easier, not easy. No project can ever execute itself regardless of how well it's been planned.

The project needs the project manager to manage the work, the people, and all communications
throughout the whole phase. And while the project team is responsible for the actual execution of the
project, it's the project manager who's accountable. Of course, the execution phase will vary more than
the planning stage, depending on the project, but don't worry.

In the following lessons, we will take you through some universal methods for ensuring a smooth
execution. Alright? You may have noticed that the execution phase runs alongside the monitoring and
control phase. Instead of explaining both those phases simultaneously, we will break halfway through
execution to explain monitoring and control activities.

It will be much clearer this way. Trust us on this one. We've got your back. So let's start at the beginning.
The kickoff meeting. See you in the next lesson where we will discuss what it is and how to do it.

Ep 46 what is involved in a kick-off meeting part 2

So what is a kickoff meeting? Well, it's just the starting point of the execution phase, and if done well,
won't involve any actual kicking. Here is when the project manager meets with the client sponsor,
project team, and any other key stakeholders to review the plans and present how they will execute the
project.
This will be the last official point where the project manager's plans can be challenged as this is when
they are validated. The members of the meeting must also set the rules of the project, like how will the
deliverables be approved and by whom, and how often will the project manager send project reports?

Basically, it's an opportunity to iron out all the remaining details. That said, the kickoff meeting is also the
place where the project manager must show the client that they and their project will meet the
objective. It will be the first time the project manager will have to meet certain expectations.

How have they done a good job so far? Do they understand what's involved? Are they confident that
they will succeed? Of course, with our LABARO project? You know, the answer to these questions is a
resounding yes, but you need to prove it and inspire confidence in the stakeholders. But how That's
right.

Planning. Oh. You thought we were done talking about planning now that we're in the execution phase,
huh? Well, a project manager never stops planning in one way or another. So plan when and where the
kickoff meeting will take place five to 10 days in advance. You should book an appropriate room and send
the invites with plenty of notice, and of course, make sure the projector works, maybe a prep meeting.

The point is, You can't simply think to yourself, okay, I have the kickoff meeting in two days. Let's see
what I need to do. It's like a sprint. Without a really strong start, you don't have a good chance of
winning. So while you have put all of yours and the expert skills and experience to good use and made a
wonderful project plan, you need to present this in an engaging and meaningful way.

So let's talk presentation. Slideshow are always a good bet using all the plans we have made. Summarize
them in a high level way, but be sure to cover all crucial areas. You must aim to leave the stakeholders
and the clients happy that their project is in your capable hands. Here's the best way to do that.

Start by introducing the project goal and objective and take them through the project scope. Show the
high level project schedule, gacha critical path and milestones. Then take them through the project
budget, explain what resources are needed, what the quality expectations are, and how they will be met.

Inform them about the risks involved and more importantly, wow them with your preemptive solutions.
Introduce any other area that may be important to the particular project you're working on, like legal
aspects or the communication approach. Of course you can prepare a slideshow for a convenient way to
showcase everything.
Remember though, even after a killer presentation, details will need to be discussed with everybody.
This part is harder to prepare for, but there are still methods you can equip yourself with to make the
delivery of the meeting super smooth. Once you've introduced everyone and the project, validate the
plans by going through them one by one.

You have an incredibly detailed plan, so answering any questions should be simple. There is a chance,
however, that one or two stakeholders disagree with the rest of the group. Some diplomacy here goes a
long way. Try to understand why and perhaps have a discussion away from the meeting if things can't be
resolved.

Getting the project sponsor involved is also an option. Finally. Discuss with the group how the project
approval process will work. Who will approve the deliverables? Usually it will be the client who would
judge the project success in comparison to its scope and quality checks. You can also discuss who will be
responsible for approving the sub deliverables.

For example, the head of department is a sensible choice to give the approvals at various stages of a
work stream. Just before wrapping up, be sure to agree with the group how often the project manager
should provide status updates on the project health, whether it's on track, at risk of being delayed or
already delayed.

A weekly meeting is considered best practice, but this can also be biweekly or monthly depending on the
project. Again, one of the most important goals of the kickoff meeting is for the client and stakeholders
to leave feeling confident in the project. Join us next lesson for some useful tips on how to keep them
happy.

Ep 47 tips too handle meetings/ manage meeting guidelines

So would you like some invaluable tips on how to handle a kickoff and any other meeting? Of course you
would. So our first tip is to crosscheck everything. Ideally, you would've done this throughout the
planning phase, but checking your facts with the experts is a must. Engineers, architects, IT, developers,
they're all going to be more knowledgeable in their respective fields than a project manager.

Double checking with them will enable you to justify your planning decisions. However, even though
you've consulted and planned from almost every angle, there will still be difficult questions you simply
do not know the answer to. If this happens, the best strategy is to admit you do not have the expertise
to answer this particular question.
No one will doubt your ability to run this project if you admit you do not know an answer to a very
technical question. The more important point here is what to do next. A good project manager will have
to demonstrate this gap will be immediately addressed. Assure the group that you will find out the
necessary information at the first possible moment, and the answer will be provided.

Then just update your plan accordingly and do what you promised. You may also encounter people who
are constantly concerned by and untrusting of your plan, even if you believe there isn't a better way or
plan to address these concerns. A clever idea when this happens is to add their concerns to the risk log.

It helps when people see their concerns documented and taken seriously. As you can imagine, there are
plenty of words and phrases to avoid when answering questions and discussing a project. For example, if
you feel like responding with the sentence, this cannot be done. Consider phrasing it differently, like
considering the available time or budget, there is a low probability that we can deliver this as per these
expectations.

Of course, there are plenty of these, but the two biggest ones that will make a team lose trust in you are,
I don't know, and I hope as we said, If you don't know, approach the situation with a can-do attitude.
Unfortunately, I cannot confirm this right now. Let me review over the next day and I will get back to you
with an answer similarly by saying, I hope you effectively suggest that you are leaving something up to
chance instead, try.

We have reviewed and planned to meet the goal. If we see it as not progressing as part our expectations,
then we will quickly take actions to bring it back on track. This shows that even by chance something
happens, you will take actions to resolve it. Notice that in the last quote, the project manager said, we
instead of I, this is a smart way of promoting team spirit and motivation.

You and the project would be nothing without them. We know you are brilliant, but so is your team, and
you need to make sure they know that too. Inspire enthusiasm. After all, you are about to create
something amazing with a group of diverse people with different skills and backgrounds. Motivate your
team.

If you are confident in their success, they will be two now. After the kickoff meeting, don't forget to send
the minutes. The minutes not only serve as a reminder, but also as a formal documentation of agreed
commitments. And speaking of commitments, follow up on your own. Demonstrate that the action
owner due date concept is second nature to you.

What's the action owner due date concept you ask? Join us next lesson to find out.
Ep 48 what is action-owner due date/project diary

By now, you should have a solid idea of what's involved in a kickoff meeting. So it's time to talk about the
action owner due date concept. You can probably guess by the not so cryptic title that it's some sort of
project diary to keep track of actions throughout the execution. But let's talk about it in a little more
detail.

As we've mentioned, plenty of time as before, projects are complex initiatives, and when we can plan
meticulously, the execution phase will still have its missteps. If we are not diligent with so many
activities, departments, and expertise, and people and cultures and new tasks, there are bound to be
miscommunications and gaps in understanding.

This can cause inefficiencies and less recorded in a project diary. Whenever there are ongoing actions or
agreements made as the project goes, the three dimensions to record are what must be done by whom
and until when. Let's look at them in turn. First, the action or the task. You must describe the task clearly.

That way you will avoid giving people freedom of interpretation. Then there's recording the responsible
party. We've all come across those tasks that everyone thinks someone else has done, and then they get
neglected completely and everyone blames someone else. Assigning a person to a task means everyone
knows exactly who is responsible for the task completion, and finally the due date.

Humans are notorious procrastinators both at work and in our spare time. Very few of us can trust
ourselves to not get distracted, let alone others. On top of that, we know from the planning fallacy that
we are not so great at forecasting the future. Setting a time limit increases our focus. So the project diary
is a formal document which states the what, the who, and the when.

It is super useful. So let's have a look at what a project diary would look like using the LAMB project. In
the next lesson, get your Project manager's shoes on, and I'll see you there.

Ep 49 filing in a project diary

Running The project will change and grow. This needs to be recorded formally and we are going to use
our lamb barari project to show you how. Alright, so you are holding your kickoff meeting and lamb's HR
manager has asked if we need to hire anyone who speaks a language other than English. This is a good
point that you hadn't thought of.
The marketing manager is also there. And they confirm that with the expected clients, it would be a
good idea to have at least one Spanish speaking member of staff and one Russian speaking employee.
The HR manager says that it is doable, but the time needed for the hiring process will be around 11
weeks rather than the eight initially planned.

This means that your action is to update the activity, recruit personnel in your project plan. You are the
person who needs to complete it. As you know, this is a task which you can complete in a day. You mark
this down too, something to point out. Even if there is a relatively simple task and you are the one
responsible for it, don't assume that you will remember, because firstly, this can lead to mistakes.

Secondly, other people on the project need to know what is happening and to trust that you are being
thorough in your execution. And thirdly, This can be a record for future projects where similar actions
may help you with planning. Now, imagine you are a month into your project and you hold a project
update meeting.

The marketing manager shares a problem regarding the activity, order, furniture and tech with the
Subtask Select vendors, which by the way is line 45 of your project plan. They tell you that the design
agency will not be able to prepare the work in the next two months as they are over encumbered with
other clients.

But you have estimated five weeks for creating the furniture. Two months are not. Okay. Your project is
now in week 22 and the construction company is already working on the final stages of construction. The
roof works. So you ask the marketing director to search for another design agency. However, they explain
that they cannot help, and it's the finance manager assistant who deals with the vendors after speaking
with them.

You set a deadline of two weeks and fill it into your project Diary. Nice job, project manager. As you can
see, projects change and evolve, but with a clear and concise project diary, everyone can see their
commitments and when the project manager is on top of it, there is a lot less room for delays and
mistakes.

The project diary is a great tool during the execution phase, but since a tool is only good as its user, a
project manager needs to be able to manage all the work and people involved. In the next few lessons,
we will discuss just how the project manager can do this. Keep in mind, the popular name for this tool is
a project action log.

So in your next project, use this as the fancy cover for your diary. See you in the next lesson.
Ep 50