Quarterly kick-off
“Half the company doesn’t know what we’re trying to do this quarter.”
Sound familiar?
“The leadership team knows the plan. Nobody else does.”
It’s clear in the room where it was agreed, and fuzzy everywhere else.
“Our all-hands is a dull slideshow of updates.”
People sit through it, and go back to what they were doing.
“Looking back at the quarter turns into a blame session.”
Nobody wants to own the misses, so everyone feels blamed.
“We never stop to say what we learned.”
The same mistakes get made repeatedly.
What we do
We align on what you want to achieve with this kick-off, and what you want attendees to feel and do afterwards. Then we design a meeting format that delivers this, usually including a celebration of the past quarter’s work, what you learned and what’s changing, and what you’re going to do in the coming quarter. Then you run the all-hands yourselves.
What it looks like when it works
Everyone knows the plan, and why their work matters.
The all-hands is interesting and relevant, and people look forward to it.
Wins get credit, misses get owned, and people feel appreciated.
Lessons are shared across the company.
How it runs
Before
We survey the team to figure out what they get from the current all-hands, and what they are missing.
During
I help the leadership team design the agenda, build the content and make a plan to deliver it.
After
Following the all-hands, we run a second survey to see what changed, and run a post-mortem to integrate the feedback for next time.
You leave with
A company that knows what it’s doing and why, and is ready to deliver.
Typical format
How long: from an hour to half a day
Where: online, in your office, or at an offsite
Preparation and support: by email and video call, as much or as little as you need
Options: a dry run with feedback to prepare, and I can attend your all-hands to give you direct feedback
Case studies
OKRs that took the company up-market
A Series D data SaaS scale-up whose product had stopped selling refocused on the world’s biggest customers, got on budget, and stopped pulling its CEO into everything.
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From a strategy on paper to a confident strategic call
A Series A B2B software startup's leadership team turned a strategy on paper into OKRs they still run, and found the confidence to make a big strategic call.
Read more
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From silos to a leadership team that owned the strategy
A Series C deep-tech scale-up got its leaders out of their silos and owning one strategy together, then launched a major new product and became cash-flow positive.
Read more
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Who you’ll be working with
I run every session myself.
I spent six years at Google, then two at Amazon, where I led a 100-person organisation. Since then, I’ve worked with over 200 leaders and 16 startup leadership teams as a facilitator and coach.
If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll introduce you to someone who could be.
What usually comes first: Quarterly planning
What usually comes next: Mid-quarter review
Know someone this would help?
Here’s a line you can send them:
Richard helps a startup run its quarterly kick-off: the all-hands where everyone hears what you learned, what’s changing and what each team will do.
Next steps
Start with a free, 20-minute Clarity Call. Confidential, and no preparation needed.