Posted by Angel Hernandez on Thu, May 28, 2009 @ 03:00 PM
Hello America. It's time for another fireside chat.
After a likely exhausting bid or RFP process, we find many participants eager to get started with the project. Behind the scenes, we're assigning a project manager to handle the lifecycle of the implementation. We're also laying out the general milestones, etc. In our process, we make a few calls to "transition" the contract from their Account Executive to the Project Manager...and soon we meet the project team.
In the beginning, we're excited to meet new faces and learn more about their organization. Sometimes the client doesn't quite reciprocate. Their anticipation is usually inversely proportional to their participation in the selection process. For many, this may be the first time they have even HEARD there is new software on the horizon. This would be one of those great first Impression moments.
So how important is a project kickoff? And what makes for a good one?
Easy...bring food. Sure, sure. Introductions, background, and a few words on timelines all play a key role. But what about creating an environment for success? (I'll pause for a moment to let you know that no campfires or guitars will be involved in the following...)
By the end of a kickoff session, your clients need to know that you are there to make this a successful endeavor. Think of it as needing them to impart their trust in you (Which is probably minimal at this point). Achieving any semblance of trust will be just as important as making it to your final "Questions" slide with the quintessential coffee bean clipart. Since we all know how to click forward in that presentation, let's think about how we can earn trust.
I offer two of many ways:
1) Present yourself as a humble expert. You know your product and while you understand jails, there's much to learn about THEIR jail. Repeat: Jack is the only thing I know about this facility.
2) Let the team know what to expect. Speak about your role. Verbalize what is needed from them, the pace, the timeline and what they will have at the end of this process. Oh, and for Pete's sake...Deliver!
Remembering this will show that you are open to share in the work as well as the success. You also expose a need on your part (be strong, I know you can do it). This need emphasizes that cooperation is really not an option. You acknowledge that while change is not easy, what your client knows is key to moving forward. And YOU cleared the fog to see that horizon more clearly.
The kickoff meeting sets the tone for the rest of the project. Building rapport is the art to the science of a successful implementation. So in the end (or beginning in this case), a shiny suit and a PowerPoint do not a successful kickoff make.
It also might not hurt to find the local favorite donut shop.
Posted by Angel Hernandez on Tue, May 05, 2009 @ 01:00 PM
Greeting and thanks for checking into this Angel Hernandez character. Since you're looking, here's a little background. You supply the Musak.
Aside for a few economic diversions (sold cars post 9/11), my career revolves around improving how people can do their work. I spent a few years in the academic sector so my main "people" were instructors, academicians, and learners. I got to do a decent balancing act of optimizing software and hardware to accomplish this. While it starts to peg the geek-o-meter, it's very satisfying to see all sorts of work getting done more efficiently, and yes, more effectively.
To glom another's quote: Efficiency = Doing things right; Effectiveness = Doing the right things.
The private sector offered me much of the same. I needed to find out what the organization was doing and what they needed *to be* doing. And now in Corrections, I find I ask the same questions.
Clearly I don't want to get caught up in slick-technology-factors. This is especially true when you consider how safety dictates care, custody, and control. Even with the aspects of uniqueness in Corrections... we ask, "Why is DSI there?" My take... to help you spend more time on what's important.
So even with a self-admitted tinge of ADD, I'm back to finding ways to keep people focused (insert irony here).