Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By Alyssa Royse
I seem to spend my entire life with exactly twogroups of people – Starteruppers and Parents. There are very fewdifferences between these two groups of people. They are both committedto raising things of their own creation, they are multi-taskers, theyhave their eyes on the future and they are madly trying to do too manythings at the same time.
There is one primary difference,however, that I see almost universally. Parents know when somethingactually matters, and are able to let things slide when they don’tREALLY matter. Clothes on the kid matters, (clean clothes, lessimportant.) Kid to school, and fed several times a day matters, (PBJwill work in a pinch, even if you intended to make port roast.) Thatpile of laundry? Screw it, it will still be there tomorrow, maybe eventhe next day and the day after that.
I cannot possibly list howmany of my friends are perpetually stressed out about meeting deadlineswithin their startups. I have taken to asking them, “is that like food,or is it like laundry?” It matters, a lot. While deadlines, focus andmomentum are of paramount importance in any business, they are oftenarbitrary, fuzzy and come with a cost. It is of vital importance thatwe learn, as “business parents” to tell the difference between anarbitrary deadline, a fuzzy deadline and a real deadline – and to beable to assess the cost and benefit of meeting the deadlines we set.
1.Real Deadlines are things that are created externally by marketconditions. If, for instance, you are creating an iPhone app that helpspeople find the best locally grown peaches in town, you have a realdeadline. You better be up and running by May, which will give you timeto get PR and have a user base when the peaches ripen in June. If youmiss it, you are done for another year. Peach season is a real deadline.
- Cost of Hitting Deadline: Hardcore crunch makes people tired, but because it is clearly finite, people can generally withstand it. You risk shot nerves and snark, but that often can be overcome with beer, pizza and the knowledge that it is temporary and will give you the reward of getting to market.
- Cost of NOT Hitting Deadline: Death.
- Benefit of Hitting Deadline: Life
Real deadline. Nail it.
2.Fuzzy deadlines are usually dictated by things like partners,collaborators and investors. They’re realish, but not usually life anddeath. Let’s say that you publish a digital magazine and you have aproject lined up with a major national brand that will enable you toreach hundreds of thousands of new viewers. You create content, line upthe plan, but for a variety of reasons, the deadline you set togetherjust isn’t going to get hit. The plan is in place and you can hit itnext month. Annoying and maybe heartbreaking, but what’s really at play?
- Cost of Hitting Deadline: If it is possible, it will require a lot of people working way too hard for something that they know could happen next month instead. The stress and ill-will is NOT easily overcome in these cases. The dialog between partners and collaborators will likely turn angry and nasty which may erode your future working relationship.
- Cost of NOT Hitting Deadline: Disappointment, which usually subsides with the time to sleep and play. Having to tell people that you’re going to be delayed, which is usually a big ego blow, but most people in business understand these things. Delayed revenue and traffic, which sucks.
- Benefit of Hitting Deadline: Progress, checking something off the list, traffic and revenue, momentum, the good vibes of getting it done. Those all matter greatly, but will still be there next month.
- Benefit of NOT Hitting Deadline: Sanity, goodwill, stronger working relationships. The time to get it done RIGHT rather than just get it done. The nebulous lesson that things can change unexpectedly and that you are strong and nimble enough to ride it out.
Fuzzy Deadline. Let it shift.
3.Arbitrary deadlines are, in my opinion, the things that kill most ofus. An arbitrary deadline is a date that you circled on the calendarbecause you wanted to launch something at that time. For no realreason. You are launching a product that will help people wash laundrybetter than before, you chose June 16th because that is your mother’sbirthday and that woman could wash socks like nobody’s business.Working backwards from that date, you decided that staff had to behired by February 2. It’s Jan 15 and you still haven’t found the rightpeople, you’re totally stressed, turning into an asshole and it’sgetting ugly. (And everyone in your house has Swine Flu and you reallydon’t think you have time to care for them right now.)
- Cost of Hitting The Deadline: Losing sleep and friends. Making bad decisions because you’ve put yourself in a pressure situation that makes it hard to think. Your own health, because stress is bad for you!
- Cost of NOT Hitting The Deadline: None
- Benefit of Hitting the Deadline: Momentum and the undeniable “high” of being on your way. The ability to tell people that you’re on your way.
- Benefit of Missing the Deadline: Making better decisions. Being happy and sane, which, in turn, makes you a better person in your real life and your work life.
Arbitrary Deadline. Screw It.
Mostof our business lives may not seem that black and white, but most ofthem are. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies, putting unrealisticexpectations on ourselves based on arbitrary beliefs and the fear ofbeing judged by others.
There are also VERY REAL things likebudgets that get shifted when our deadlines shift, but those are fairlyeasily factored in when you step back from things. Yes, longertimelines mean longer burn – you should have factored that in, andthere is always a work around.
But you have to learn to look atthe human beings you work with as a limited resource, just like yourbank account. If you exhaust, stress and deplete your human capital,you are just as screwed as if you deplete your bank account. If hittingdeadlines depletes your human capital and does not ADD to your bankaccount and market share immediately, it’s probably not worth it.
If it isa race between human capital and cash capital, reallocate resources.Spend less money somewhere so that you have the luxury of making gooddecisions and creating a healthy environment. (Giving up office space, but keeping a great staff that can work remotely seems like a no-brainer.)
Ask any parentwho opted to go see Where The Wild Things Are on Sunday afternoon withtheir kids rather than tackling the laundry. Or any person who lettheir marriage fall apart in order to hit an arbitrary deadline. Thecost benefit analysis is big – and extends far beyond the lines on a P& L. (Unless we start adding “everyone hates me and there is acivil war brewing at the office” as an “L.”)
There are pros andcons to everything, and unless you learn to look at both, you’re likelyto get buried under a mountain of your own dirty laundry and no one isgoing to want to help you.
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Alyssa Royse is thefounder of JUST CAUSE Magazine, the November / December issue of whichwas originally supposed to come out today, but will come out next weekinstead. She does not do laundry or cleaning of any sort, but does cooka good meal for her friends and family most nights of the week. (Also, she was supposed to post yesterday, not today, but was recovering from Swine Flu and had to proof said Nov / Dec issue, so let this deadline slip.)
