To begin or start something, especially a project, meeting, or initiative.
Borrowed from American football where play begins with a kickoff in 1857. The metaphorical business usage emerged in the 1960s as sports terminology increasingly infiltrated corporate language, reflecting America's growing sports culture.
This phrase shows how deeply sports metaphors have penetrated business language - we 'punt' on decisions, 'tackle' problems, and 'score' wins. The kickoff meeting has become so standard that many forget it's a football metaphor at all.
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