The Kickoff That Counts
Why launching quickly matters—but only when you’re equipped to succeed.
This article is part of the “Project Management in Emergency Management Playbook” for Academy Subscribers.
When I was in the Marines, one of the units I served in had a challenge built around a simple question: how fast could your unit launch with everything it needs to succeed? From the moment an order came down, how quickly could we receive it, build a plan, mobilize the team, and begin the operation?
In the military, that speed (without cutting corners) matters. The opportunities you can pursue—and the ones that pass you by—are determined by whether you have the ability to act before it’s too late. Reducing the time it took us to launch became a constant focus. Every minute saved created new opportunities.
The pursuit of speed led to continual improvements in our pre-mission processes. We refined checklists for vehicle inspections to ensure equipment was functioning and fully stocked. We practiced giving and receiving orders so we could identify the critical information quickly and avoid delays caused by clarifying questions. We developed standard operating procedures so that simply saying, “There’s a mission coming down,” was enough to trigger immediate, coordinated action without waiting for explicit direction. And we staged gear and equipment in ways that reduced wasted motion when the call came.
The lesson stuck with me: one aspect of readiness is about preparing to launch quickly with everything you need to make the mission a success.
From the Marines to Disaster Management
Disaster response and military operations are different in many ways. But the underlying premise—that speed of launch impacts success—applies directly to project management.