THE ART OF THE DEADLINE

New Year's resolutions brought these thoughts to mind for CEO's.

—You are the gatekeeper of deadlines for your company. Did you know that?
Even when outside pressures seem to make them for you, it it your job to manage the timing of the organizational response.

—Deadlines create organizational stress to perform or relax. You need to 
know which is needed and when.  And YES, relaxation is needed by an organization--breaks, celebration, new learning, vacations, time to literally breathe. And demand is needed as well to propel needed performance. And YOU have to know when and how to make both happen with the right deadlines.

—What if New Year's day came once a week. It could. It's all arbitrary. Why not.
All those new resolutions, hope, and FAILURE.  A constant atmosphere of deadline chaos dilutes company strength and performance. 

—We suffer not so much from multi-tasking as we do from multi-goaling.
Too many goals, too many super tight deadlines (that eventually get moved creating lack of belief in any deadline)

—We tend to mistake 'urgency' for results. I had a son who was high performing in results (grades, sports, etc) but always got low scores in "effort".
When I semi-chastised him (in the name of teachers) he replied, "I think they should give a better grade for working easy. It's a lot harder." Do not think that creating pressure creates better performance. Think about that.

—You should have a map of top company deadlines in your head--your head, not in the project management or enterprise management system only. In fact your top tier should know the deadlines of the total picture and whether they need to be tightened or loosened.

—Setting deadlines is an art. Be aware that you are the ultimate owner of deadline creation. Use this art well.  There is power in it beyond stress and continuous urgency.