Overdeliver on Promises

  “[You should] overdeliver on promises and deadlines. Show up early, deliver your product early, and deliver more than you promised. Over deliver now (and in the future) you will be overpaid.” (Clay Clark)

We all face deadlines. They can make for stressful times. Here is a seven step process to follow in order to ensure deadlines are met on.

“Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.” (Frank Zappa)

1.  Get clarification - Clients may not know the information you need, or what variables in the project could change the scope entirely. Ask questions that get to the specifics, and don’t go forward until you know what you’re getting into.

“Give yourself a deadline to stop planning and to start taking action.” (Andy Gilbert)

2.  Come to agreement - Put everything in writing. Make sure you get the client to sign off, and confirm that they understand their role in meeting your deadlines.

“The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.” (Nolan Bushnell)

3.  Work backwards - Start from the end, and create milestones to measure progress along the way. The milestones will define the most important checkpoints of the project.

“The only deadline is the one I give myself.” (Mark Thomas)

4.  Break it down - Break all of those large complex chunks down into small tasks, and assign responsibility for each one. Each of your tasks should outline an individual action.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” (Henry Ford)

5.  Give yourself extra time - By allowing a little extra time for each part of the project, you have the flexibility to shift the timeline as needed. Allowing for extra time also gives you a chance to work at a pace you’re comfortable with (instead of being in frantic mode for the entire project).

“If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.” (Henry A. Kissinger)

6.  Go step-by-step - Once you’ve created the timeline for work, put away the full view until it’s time for a project check-in. Focus on each individual task on the list. Working methodically will keep you on track, and avoid focusing on the vast amounts of work still to be completed.

“But for each of us, isn't life about determining your own finish line?” (Diana Nyad)

7.  Keep everyone informed - Having open lines of communication with frequent check-ins is even more important if you’re working with subcontractors (and other providers). Everyone should be working from the same timeline, task list and project information.[i]

“Dreams don't have deadlines. I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it” (LL Cool J)

 “Goals aren't enough. You need goals plus deadlines: goals big enough to get excited about and deadline to make you run. One isn't much good without the other, but together they can be tremendous.” (Ben Feldman)

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[i] Adapted from “7 Simple Steps to Meeting Deadlines” by Alyssa Gregory