‘Improper timelines’ as one of the consistent complaints I hear from my friends and colleagues across the organizations. Somehow, they are always not happy with the kind of timelines their bosses propose to the clients. I wonder, why this mismatch happens, at least, in Indian context?
I think, concepts such as ‘under-promise and over-deliver’ and ‘promise more to win the deal/keeping the client satisfied’ are some of the major drivers for this phenomenon, especially the latter one.
Managers should strive for maintaining a balance between client’s expectations and realistic completion time (including all buffers/risks). No client would want you to ask for extensions or provide sub-par quality work. Once a tight timeline has been promised, team consciously or sub-consciously may start compromising on quality to find shortcuts. ‘Client delight’ just goes for a toss.
On the other hand, if you promise less, team might do just that much instead of over-delivering.
The key is to strike the right balance through an extended series of conversations with the clients. Also, it works best when you take your own employees/your team in confidence. Though you may have just the right experience and authority to decide the timelines but taking the opinions of your employees makes them a stakeholder in the process as well. The result is obvious – they will be more dedicated and committed towards timely project completion.