kickoff
A kickoff is a grand ceremony held before setting sail on the vast ocean of a project. In reality, it is a public speaking event where participants gather to passionately discuss vague objectives. Actual decision-making authority is placed in the hands of executives' spur-of-the-moment emails, rendering the meeting itself irrelevant as the true starting point. The meeting minutes attain a second life in the office trash, while participants later drown in a deluge of follow-up emails. It is a farce of the business world where hopes for the future intertwine with meaningless agendas.