Move Fast #3: Set deadlines, even if you have to make them up

This week I had a discussion with 30 founders about early stage product development at the byfounders basecamp. I went over a list of symptoms of an organization lacking urgency, one being having no deadlines or milestones. This spurred a lively debate that lasted the rest of the session.  

My position is that organizations need committed deadlines for projects, even if they are “artificial” and not driven by any external event. A pushback on “artifical deadlines” represents a mindset problem with your product/engineering team that’s slowing them down. I was surprised by how controversial this viewpoint was – the arguments against deadlines included:

• Setting dates without a true need feels arbitrary, especially if someone lacking domain expertise sets them, like a CEO dictating timelines to engineers.

• It’s difficult to estimate work upfront accurately. As you dive into a problem, you frequently uncover unanticipated complexity that extends timelines.

• External dependencies outside of the team’s control make deadlines pointless. For example, you might rely on a partner to accomplish something without input on their schedule.

While understandable, these are not valid excuses for operating without deadlines. Declining to commit to timeframes because of uncertainty rewards the avoidance of hard choices and provides cover for undisciplined execution.

If you are uncomfortable self-imposing deadlines, have your team set deadlines and then monitor accuracy and build metrics around improving velocity. The discipline of tracking to fixed timelines, while difficult, accelerates organizations. Progress depends on committing to dates, holding people accountable, and driving the resolution of blocking issues. Deadlines may cause short-term pain but enable long-term speed.