Author: Neal
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Team Liftoffs Lounge: Pre-Rubicon Reading Material
The rubicon represents the moment of commitment to a course of actions. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, he broke Roman law and sealed the fate of the Republic. The Rubicon was a small river marking the northern boundary of Italy, and generals were forbidden to lead their armies across it under…
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Leaders Accelerate and Sustain Team Success with Liftoffs
CodeCamp Romania | 22 October 2025 | with Diana Larsen. Full details can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7343174973852643328/about/
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Mini articles inspired by Liftoff
Jim and Melissa York have written a series of mini articles which explore some of the key concepts of a Liftoff: What is a product vision? What is a team mission? What is a mission test? It’s always refreshing to read what other people write about these elements, because there’s always an opportunity to learn…
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Liftoff Activities Recorded
Last week, Diana Larsen and Neal Taylor met up online to record a short explanation of each of the key nine activities that constitute an effective Liftoff. These videos have now been added to each of the pages. The pages are linked to the Miro template (in progress) so that if anyone requires further information…
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Liftoff @Miroverse – Template ‘In Design’
Last week I had a call with the designers at Miro where we discussed the template for ‘Liftoff – starting agile and high performing teams’. It is quite nerve-racking getting a template out there that people will be using! The design I did was probably a good first attempt at structuring the information but it…
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Heilmeier Catechism
George H. Heilmeier, a former DARPA director (1975-1977), crafted a set of questions known as the “Heilmeier Catechism” to help Agency officials think through and evaluate proposed research programs. The keen observer may notice that a good liftoff ensures that such questions are also answered, and collaboratively. What’s also interesting is that the removal of…
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Can you do a Liftoff in stages?
Technically, yes! We believe it’s best to run a Liftoff as a consecutive two-day event, but it is possible to do it in stages. For example, I once facilitated a Liftoff in two parts: first, I worked through the Purpose section with leadership and team, then a couple of weeks later, we covered Alignment and Context with just the…
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Liftoff February Working Session
Liftoff Miro Template Updates Chartering and the team charter Neal and Diana discussed the team chartering process, including the difference between a liftoff and a charter, the hierarchy and stability of the different elements (purpose, alignment, context), and the importance of making the charter a living, evolving document rather than a one-time exercise. What’s the…