One secret to maintaining schedule is to keep control of when actions and decisions occur. Think about the difference in these two approaches to action item follow-up:
- An action item is assigned to someone outside of your company (or group). A due date and person responsible is assigned. The responsible person agrees to provide status on completion 3 days ahead of the due date. You wait for the completion status report.
- An action item is assigned to someone outside of your company (or group). A due date and person responsible is assigned. You tell the person responsible that you will complete the action yourself (or delegate to another) if the due date nears with no status from him.
The difference is in #2, you control when the action is completed. You control the clock.
A better example is how decisions are made:
- Someone outside of your company (or group) is responsible for making a decision. A due date and person responsible is assigned. The responsible person agrees to provide the decision on the due date. You wait for the decision. They control the clock.
- Someone outside of your company (or group) is responsible for making a decision. A due date and person responsible is assigned. You and the responsible person discuss the possible outcomes of the decision and which one is most likely (candidate decision). You and the responsible person agree that unless a different outcome is defined by the due date, the candidate decision will stand. You have just kept control of the clock.
Realistically, you can't hog the clock at all times. Some actions and decisions can't be co-opted as blithely as this example implies. Some tasks truly need the other company or group to work them at their own pace. But every time you can, you should try to keep control of the clock.
Keep score of historical behavior of the people and companies you deal with. You will quickly discover which ones can be trusted to deliver on the due dates set. Pay more attention to hogging the clock with the others. Your programs will have fewer slippages.
-Don Burtis