“Without deadlines and restrictions, we just tend to become preoccupied with other things” – Val Kilmer
Everything about this quote embodies the specific need of every human being and not only those employed in the corporate world for a proper deadline. It is a reality that in this world, nothing is buttressed on a perpetual standstill and everything has a deadline—even your dreams and aspirations have deadlines, and this is precisely how they become goals.
In the corporate world, the existence of deadlines is even more vital as it is often said and believed that if it were not for deadlines, nothing would ever get done. In fact, it has been widely accepted that when it comes to projects and reports, there is no greater inspiration than having a deadline. But of course, while this is true, deadlines can be incredibly taxing and a tad bit daunting to employees. But of course, logistics wise, deadlines are not as much of a threat when it is complemented with an effective and responsible team and an open avenue for communication as well. Whether you may be a business owner, or an employee still struggling to climb the steps of the metaphorical corporate ladder, the fact remains that communication is the single most crucial tool in hurdling deadlines. And it is rather disappointing why people would inordinately neglect this rather simple aspect.
People are chronic procrastinators, this much is true and when they are given the liberty of time without any target date whatsoever, they will inevitably lose focus and just do designated tasks whenever they feel like it inasmuch as they will defer doing what is supposed to be done at the last minute when they are given a prolonged and extended deadline. And when a project involves a certain group of people, chronic procrastinators and people who delay will invariably cause a disruption in the work flow ensuing in substandard results. Take a company offering SEO (search engine optimization) consulting services for example, this company is comprised of various teams who would work on certain projects. To achieve a desired end result, these teams coordinate with one another, work in cohesive harmony and communicate what each team needs in order to meet the demands of their project all the while working on a target deadline. Succinctly put, as the prior scenario has put: delay gets things done but good communication gets things done faster so much so, that communication may be considered as the primary bulwark in not only meeting deadlines, but beating them.
MAKE THINGS GO RIGHT
Businesses rarely operate on a single person alone in perpetual isolation and who does correspondence solely by sending out letters to everyone else. Businesses and corporations, no matter how big or small involve a multitude of people of various skills and abilities and more often than not, it is a matter of everyone being coordinated and communicating well. This corporate symbiotic relationship composed of several diverse people determines how a particular project or task deadline will be hit or met. To ensure that everything is running the way they should be and as efficiently, everyone needs to be apprised of precisely at which point in the project everyone is. The cumulative effect of having everyone meet smaller deadlines results into meeting or beating the bigger deadline and have them be more effective and competent in their jobs. If you are a business owner, a little encouragement from you telling your employees to keep an open avenue for communication throughout their projects and throughout the whole day can go a long day. To this effect, no one will be surprised whenever something does come through. When things are running smoother with fewer kinks and peaks, the landscape towards meeting deadlines will be wrought better and reaching end goals and deadlines will be so much faster.
WHEN THINGS GO AWRY
No matter how efficient your employees are, and no matter how effectively they have been performing at their jobs, it is inevitable that some projects would not fall through and some deadlines cannot be met as it is a reality that your employees are not working on a singular project alone. Of course, there are other work and tasks that would inescapably occupy a portion of their time and unless they abdicate their other tasks totally and dedicate their sole focus on a new project, negotiating with deadlines can be a bit of a habit and at times delays will ensue with target dates unmet. Other times, these are from fortuitous events that are beyond your control , unfortunately sometimes delays are the byproduct of a single team member’s incompetence or procrastination and other times, it is just because the logistics of the project completion have not been thoroughly gone over and discussed.
When such occurs, it is imperative that you manage your expectations. More often than not, as an overseer of their projects and work tasks, you would know when a particular deadline is going to be hit so when this occurs, ne open about it. Inform your customers and clients about the delay and as much as possible convey the reasons in a manner that they would make them understand why such delay had happened. If you notify your customers and clients, they will be more susceptible and amenable about the delay and will less likely give you a hard time. In this way, they can make the necessary adjustments on their own logistics where the finished product which is your project is involved and keep things running smoothly as well which is just as important as they try to figure out a flexible way to go around the problem without the finished product from you. As a corollary as well as a precaution, it is vital that you let those people involved in the deadline being unmet know of the repercussions of the delay.
Make them aware of the impact, but avoid excessive blaming as this will not only decelerate the process of finishing the assigned task, it will give you unimpressive or even substandard results. However, be clear that excuses are not to be tolerated–especially excuses that are haphazardly composed and are made to the effect of it being ludicrous. Stand firm and let them duly explain why the deadline was not met and let them tell you how they intend to meet the new target deadline. In this way, you are actively preserving the image of your company as tolerating delays and excuses would give your business unwanted and unnecessary effects such as losing customers or far worse, legal repercussions.
To conclude…
Communication is exceptionally pivotal in all types of relationships as can be gleaned above, most particularly in personal and business relationships. With this said, it is important that you find a way to enhance your business communication and correspondence. To sum it up: Do not disregard communication as it is a vital instrument in making or breaking your business.