Leadership Communications

Leadership Communications Introduction Rino Automobile is a motor vehicle manufacturing company which prides itself in producing innovative products to meet the markets’ needs. Besides motor vehicles, the company also produces farm machinery and aircraft. After many years of experimenting and being subjected to various rigorous tests to ensure safety and comfort, Rino Automobile has developed an engineless car known as Blaze. The Blaze car does not rely on a combustion engine for its movement since rechargeable batteries power it. The batteries can be recharged with electricity or solar energy. As one drives the car on the road, it's powering system converts the solar energy into mechanical energy, powering the car and hence movement.

This paper describes the Blaze car and examines the strategy that Rino Automobile use to launch it into the market.

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Description of the Product After a long period of research on energy efficient cars, the Blaze was invented in response to the growing need for energy efficient vehicles to reverse the adverse effects of global warming. The car has zero tailpipe emissions, and its batteries can be charged at home or on the road. As long as the batteries are charged or there is enough heat energy from the sun, the Blaze engineless car is very reliable and can run for 5,000 miles when fully charged.

Blaze is cheaper to run and maintain, unlike vehicles that have an internal combustion engine (ICE). At only $23,000, the Blaze has a competitive advantage over energy efficient cars such as the Fiat 500e, Chevy Spark, Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model S. In addition to being costeffective, the vehicle also has an attractive modern design and comes in a variety of colors to suit the customer's preferences.

Who To Invite For The Kickoff Meeting And Why During the introduction of a new product, a kickoff meeting is essential because it enables the project team and client to meet and interact. The kickoff meeting should draw the customer's interest in the product to enable them to purchase the product. For Blaze's kickoff meeting, the team members who are responsible for the manufacture of the car such as the design team, the production team, and the testing team, the management of the company and four tech-savvy customers. Each of these individuals provides significant relevant input that will enable the company to produce a car that meets the market's needs. The design team interacts with the production and testing team to develop a vehicle that has unique features and is efficient and effective. The testing team determines whether the vehicle meets the quality standards, while the management of the company ensures that these teams develop a product that can generate revenues for the company. The customers, on the other hand, are

crucial to the kickoff meeting because they advise these teams whether the final product is good enough for the market; it helps the company to estimate the level of interest to expect from the market once the product is launched. Before holding the kickoff meeting, the design, production and testing teams should know as much as possible about the product to be able to answer the customers’ and management’s question adequately. This will instill confidence in the client about the viability of the product, and will also lead to a productive kickoff meeting.

Agenda and Time Frames When conducting a kickoff meeting, it is essential to have a detailed agenda for the topics that should be discussed; this will help to avoid wasting time and will also facilitate a productive meeting where the relevant issues are covered. Before the kickoff meeting, it is crucial to contact the key stakeholders regarding their expectations of the meeting. The relevant stakeholders, in this case, are the design, production and testing teams, the management and the customers. This will help to develop an agenda for the kickoff meeting.

The agenda of the Rino Automobile’s kickoff meeting should include a description of the product in terms of its name, design, and features. Secondly, the agenda should also include the background of the project and a description of the problems that the product solves; these will give each attendee a clear picture of the objectives of the project. The kickoff meeting will also introduce each of the team members and the roles they play towards the achievement of the goals of the project. The kickoff session should provide an opportunity for the customers to ask questions or make comments about the Blaze. At the end of the meeting, the moderator should thank the attendees for their presence and participation and if necessary schedule a follow-up meeting.

The time frame for the development of the car is ten months. This period includes three months for research and development, two months for designing a product that meets the requirements of the market, two months for sourcing the materials required to produce the vehicle, a month for the production of the car and finally two months of testing the vehicle before it is introduced to the market.

Work Prior to the Meeting To get the most out of a kickoff meeting, the participants should ensure that they do not attend the meeting blindly. Each participant should prepare accordingly for the meeting.

The meeting’s moderator should contact the members to confirm that they will all be available for the meeting. It is also crucial to provide material or information that will be relevant for the members to understand what is expected of them during the meeting.

Additionally, the moderator should list down the agenda of the meeting and share it will the participants to give them a better understanding of the objective of the meeting and their role in it. It is important for the moderator and team members to research on the outcomes of previous similar projects; this will help them to determine the risks, challenges, successes and failures that are likely to occur, and how to mitigate the negative outcomes. Towards the date of the meeting, the moderator should send a reminder to the attendees to confirm their availability. Finally, preparing for the meeting also entails arranging a meeting venue where all the items and facilities needed for the smooth running of the meeting are available. This includes; stationery, IT support and internet connection. The agenda of the meeting should be distributed on the same day that participants are invited for the meeting; this can be a month or two in advance.

Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Kick-Off Meeting Held at the Rino Automobile Boardroom on 7th February 2019 Present: Catherine Haynes – Moderator Michael Houghton – Managing Director Steve Hughes – Finance Director Chris Payne – Design Team Leader Wendy Williams – Design Team Member Sarah Jacobs – Production Team Leader Nick James – Production Team Member Kyle Amos - Design Team Leader Michelle White – Design Team Member Tim Roberts – Customer Rachel Jakes – Customer Frank Combs – Customer Zachary Fields - Customer Introduction The meeting began with a word of welcome from the moderator, after which each participant introduced themselves and the role they play in the company.

Background The team leaders of the design and production teams gave the attendees a background of the Blaze car, its key features and how it stands out from similar cars in the market.

Description

Kyle Amos provided a description of the project in detail. He informed the attendees that a prototype has already been produced and tested by the testing team and each of the four customers, and therefore the meeting will enable the participants to determine the improvements that should be made on the car.

Discussion The testing team and customers provided their opinions of the car. Each of them agreed that producing the car is a viable idea. The leader of the testing team said that the car was too close to the ground and it was difficult to drive over bumps. One of the customers stated that the car was not strong enough to cover long distances. The second customer suggested that the car should be changed from engineless to electric. The other two customers said that they enjpoyed driving the car and were looking forward to purchase it once it is produced.

Queries and Comments The moderator invited the participants to ask questions or make a comment on the meeting’s discussions. One of the team members suggested that the price of the car should be increased because people who purchased such cars usually have the financial means to purchase an expensive car and may associate an inexpensive car with low quality. Another customer asked if they can pre-book a car so that they are assured of having it as soon as it is ready.

Any Other Business (AOB) There being no other business, the moderator thanked the participants for attending the meeting and the meeting ended at 4pm.

Distribution of Minutes

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The minutes will be distributed via email once they are well-summarized.