Pre-mobilization

Mobilize the right team, prepare for your customer engagement, and make a fantastic first impression. You only get one.

Hint: Not a diver.

Those of you who have been reading for a while know I’m a diver and a sailor. While I’m not a paraglider, all of these activities have one very important thing in common: Preparation. Preparation is key, and failing to prepare in any of these activities can end very badly.

I love checklists. Checklists are a great way to make sure you’re ready, to make sure your crew or your team is prepped and prepared, and to make sure you haven’t forgotten something important.

I have a checklist for getting ready for a sail, my “pre-departure checklist.” It’s pretty long — there’s a lot to take care of. Checking the engine, fuel levels, water tanks, batteries, safety gear, bilge, running and standing gear, sails, opening thru-hulls, steering system… it goes on. I’ve also got a crew walkthrough checklist, and a passenger checklist. There’s even a crew & passenger “pre-arrival checklist” that I email to guests about a week before arrival — and then I email them a reminder to read it. A lot of people don’t. I know this because they show up unprepared. For instance, we tell folks there’s no room onboard for a hard suitcase (bring a duffel), and they’ll need exactly two pairs of shoes (one white-soled deck shoe, one for splashing around on rocky shores). Lots of people show up with a big suitcase and several pairs of the wrong shoes. Those are the ones that aren’t prepared, and don’t enjoy their visit, because they can’t wear hard-soled shoes aboard (they’re not safe on a wet deck and can scratch up the boat) and they have to leave their suitcase on the dock.

Being prepared is better. It sets you up to enjoy the journey. It sets you up for success, and that’s what we want when we launch a new project.

Introduction

Mobilization is the first phase of the playbook. Mobilization largely consists of two kinds of activities: Engaging with your customer and discovery. It focuses on mobilizing the team, developing your product vision, creating strategic goals, understanding current state, and discovering the product value stream.

Pre-mobilization is about getting ready for all those activities. There’s a lot to do, so this is your checklist for laying the groundwork for success. It’s an incredibly important step — I can’t overstate that. You don’t want to be far out to sea before you realize your emergency fuel tank is empty — just like you don’t want to be months into a project when you realize something critical has been missed.

It may seem simple, obvious, and common sense. In my experience, it’s these common sense things that get left out. It may seem trivial, but it’s the difference between showing up as a unified, coordinated team versus fumbling the ball during your one shot at a first impression.

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