Ignore deadlines

There are deadlines and then there are deadlines.

Most deadlines are wishes, conveniences, designed to generate some kind of focus and just enough urgency to get the work done in what passes for a timely fashion. Most times too, these kind of deadlines have no relationship with the work. They’re often a statement of intent, giving plenty of time for a task that no one cares about, or too little time for something that matters.

This is why teams learn to ignore deadlines.

But … some deadlines though are actual deadlines, where things with meaning must happen before a date that will never shift. When the date is set, you better be practiced at building a relationship between the date and work – because if they don’t fit there are only two available options: adding resources or lowering the scope.

Skippy strategy: Don’t use deadlines to teach your team to ignore deadlines.

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Category:
Focus