Made for Consultants
Kickoff Readiness Check for High-Stakes Engagements
45 min
Intermediate
Decisions
Make a Decision
Need to Make a Decision
Run a structured pre-kickoff review that checks authority, access, expectations, milestones, risks, approvals, and working rules before the engagement publicly begins.
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Use this when
Use this after the agreement is signed and before the kickoff meeting. It is especially useful when the work is visible, time-sensitive, politically sensitive, dependent on client data, or spread across several stakeholder groups.
You'll need
- Engagement summary
- Scope and outcomes
- Decision rights
- Stakeholders
- Access requirements
- Working rules
- Milestones
- Known risks
You'll get
- A status for all nine readiness gates
- Kickoff blockers from issues that can be handled after launch separated A defensible Go, Conditional Go, or Delay decision
- Every blocking action has an owner or an explicit need for one, a deadline, and proof of completion
- You can brief the client without overstating readiness.
By the end of this playbook
You will have:
- A status for all nine readiness gates
- Kickoff blockers from issues that can be handled after launch separated A defensible Go, Conditional Go, or Delay decision
- Every blocking action has an owner or an explicit need for one, a deadline, and proof of completion
- You can brief the client without overstating readiness.
Sample
This is sample data, not your prompt. Pro unlocks this higher-stakes Playbook. On Free Playbooks you can still copy the assembled prompt into any AI.
Sample input
The engagement is a 10-week operating model review with a fixed board deadline. Scope is signed, but finance approval rights are unclear. One division head can't attend and has no delegate. Workforce data access and interview scheduling are pending. Weekly meetings are planned, but response times and escalation rules aren't set. HR hasn't approved data sharing.
Sample assembled prompt
Verdict: Conditional Go Reason: The scope... Preparation can begin, but interviews and... Critical conditions: 1. HR approves workforce data access before... 2. The COO confirms whether finance... 3. The absent division head names... Post-kickoff actions: 1. Agree on response times and escalation... 2. Confirm the shared document location...