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> I came to the conclusion years ago that most deadlines were entirely arbitrary. To add to this, many manager/leaders assume some kind of deadline is needed f
by makeitdouble 3y ago
> I came to the conclusion years ago that most deadlines were entirely arbitrary.
To add to this, many manager/leaders assume some kind of deadline is needed for every tasks.
They themselves manage their schedule by timeboxing and setting arbitrary due dates, feel extremely productive doing so, and expand that insight to the whole business. The base assumption is a task won't be done in a timely manner if there isn't a threat with a time limit on it.
On a human level, I also understand the appeal of having a set date for something to be done: there's a warm and fuzzy feeling of a well oiled machine churning stuff on a predictable schedule. But it's just cruel to subject so many people to a forced schedule just to manage someone's anxiety and scheduling OCD. Reality is complex, longing for making it fit into neet boxes is delusional and unproductive.
- redrove 3y agoAs an engineer I agree, but I’ve had the misfortune of managing poorly performing teams composed of unfit individuals that I couldn’t get rid of and they would do absolutely nothing if I didn’t arbitrarily give them some deadlines at least now and then. It goes both ways.
- makeitdouble 3y agoI hear you. I see those more as checkpoints than deadlines though. Even with highly self managing people, it's always safer to have some idea of how much time it could take, and check for some kind of status midway to know if it's too different from the rough estimate (sometimes you learn they didn't touch the task for various reasons)
- JohnFen 3y agoA checkpoint is a flavor of deadline.
- makeitdouble 3y agoIt's more of a camouflage I think: the theatric "management" role is fulfilled by having a random event on the calendar, but actual work doesn't have to abide to any set date and will take whatever time it needs to finish.