Comments on: Crying Wolf at Work – The Danger of False Deadlines

By: Brian Mihalic

Brian Mihalic — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 01:48:25 +0000

There is a common related management flaw – the belief that there must be a deadline for everything or it won’t ever happen. Many management systems encourage this kind of thinking. Executives who are bound by such thinking will invent false deadlines because it is the only way they know how to execute.

The fact is some ideas – for product development, process improvement, whatever – need to wait for the right opportunity to arise. Intuitive leaders know this, and can recognize the right moment. Inventing a deadline will result either in poor timing or a missed opportunity.

Religions have something to teach management theory in this area. Religions know how to keep ideas alive until the right moment comes along (although that works best for the religious individual, not for the congregation).

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:31:21 +0000

When I oversaw the creative department at a publishing house at the Executive Editor, I had two deadlines: The first served as the best date for creative to be finished so that editors. the advertising dept., and the marketing dept., could get their work done without working 18 hour days. The second was the dropdead date.

I evaluated performance based on the first date, and pay was partially based on that evaluation. And if the first date was missed, creative took lots of heat from every other department that was now going to have to work late. Guess which date creative always made?

By: laurence haughton

laurence haughton — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:27:18 +0000

“False” and phony anything (deadlines, quotas, consequences, attaboys from headquarters) doesn’t ever work in business. It all goes back to those with a “carrot and the stick” mindset. They think everyone is a jackass.