Image by dogwelder via Flickr
Sam has a really cool product. He plans on selling it via the Internet. He has one big problem. He keeps pushing his launch date.
The Internet is virtual. As much as we want it to be real, it is not. We can’t touch it. We can’t feel it. We can’t walk inside it’s doors. The virtuality of the Internet (and other technology related products) poses a problem. Our brains don’t respond to problems that they believe are imaginary. This is why arbitrary deadlines can blow up in our faces. If we know it’s not a real deadline we don’t treat it like one.
Sam started telling me how he booked a theater to get himself to finish on time when he wrote, produced and directed his first feature length film. The movie started 10 minutes late. He finished that close to the deadline. The key is that he finished. The show went on.
The theater booking painted him in a corner. He figured out how to make it happen on time. He took away the option of not making it happen. He made the deadline real. He’d have to pay for the theater either way.
Sam figured out a real deadline for his new product. He is hosting an exclusive week long event in Hawaii for the best customers of his online product. He picked the date. He will book the rooms this week.
Sam made a decision. The word ‘decide’ mean to kill off. Deciding limited his options. The fewer options we have the clearer to path forward. Sam knows when his product has to launch. It needs to launching on time so he can meet the deadline for his Hawaii event. The deadline isn’t virtual anymore. It will cost him if he doesn’t hit it. It’s real.
What options do you need to kill off today? What deadlines to you need to make more real?
What corner do you need to paint yourself in. Start painting. You’ll figure out how to get free.
Check out Stickk.com to make your deadlines more real. It’s a great way to get things done.
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- Delivering on never (sethgodin.typepad.com)
