Do you fake deadlines?
I ask that question after an interesting conversation I had with an editor at one of my seminars last week. There were three of us having drinks, and one of them was complaining about her design department.
'They tell me they need three weeks of design time to do a four-page publication,' she said. 'I know they can do it in a day, but they just won't.'
That's when the other communicator chimed in.
'Oh, you have to give them fake deadlines,' she said. 'I give everybody fake deadlines. Sources, vendors, executives . . . I lie to everyone about when I need stuff by, or when their stuff is due. I don't think I've given someone a real deadline in five years.'
I agree that fake deadlines are a terrific way to manage the editorial process. I would go so far as to say it's a good idea to create a bogus editorial calendar that you can mail to people, too.
My question is, how many editors out there use this terrific tactic?
One more note about fake deadlines, from a communicator that uses them all the time:
'The best thing about fake deadlines is that when you allow people to break them, when you give them 'a little more time,' they feel so special,' she said. 'They feel like they owe you a favor . . . when in reality, even if you give them an extra week, you'll still get the copy a week before you needed it!'
Comments (5)
DATE: 11/08/2004 01:91:4P PM
I'm a big fan of the fake deadline. I wouldn't say it is an everyday occurence, but there are a few departments / individuals who require a little creative scheduling...
Posted by Chris Baiocchi | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 11/08/2004 09:53:9P PM
Sure, I faked deadlines all the time when I was a corporate editor. It was the only way to get anything done and it really did make people feel special -- until they found out. Then they looked at me with the same dejected and disillusioned look Billy Crystal gave Meg Ryan in that faking scene in "When Harry Met Sally."
Posted by Robert J Holland | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 11/09/2004 11:84:1P AM
It used to bother the "recovering" journalist in me (she sometimes pops up at inopportune moments). But it helps when I remember that not everyone used to work at a newspaper, and the idea of a "dead" line is pretty foreign.
There's sort of a hierarchy of corporate due dates: sniffle-line, cough-line, wheeze-line, fever-line, coma-line, dead-line... But that's only for prearranged content. Anything post cough-line can't come in new -- I'll hold a spot until the fever-line for regularly scheduled features, and really, only the execs can break the coma-line.
Yes, I do a lot of justification in my own mind. Helps me stay calm in a week like this. (75 Halloween photos, so little space. Sigh.)
Posted by Sarah Stanek | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 11/10/2004 11:35:6P PM
I don't consider them to be false or fake deadlines. They are cushions you have to build into the editorial process. Otherwise you spend your entire working life freaking out. We have enough other, justifiable stuff to freak out without giving ourselves ulcers.
Posted by Kevin Snow | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 11/16/2004 83:13:9A PM
I fake deadlines proudly because my company works off 'holdfiles' -- the word deadline means nothing to most of my co-workers.
Now holdfiles pop up to remind you to do the work. So if you give people an honest deadline, you can count on them beginning the project on that date.
Posted by Deborah Hudson | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30