Intro

The origin of the word deadline dates back to the US Civil War, when a line would be drawn around prisoners and if they crossed it in any way, they were shot. Looking at things through a Radical lens reveals that in many ways, the use of the word deadline has not actually changed that much since the Civil War. We are still prisoners getting shot for going past arbitrary deadlines.

If we violate a self-imposed deadline, we feel guilt. We learn this from our parents and later in school, when we are given tasks that are supposed to be complete by a certain time. If we do not complete them, we can be grounded, physically hit, having our grades marked down, or even having time taken away from us with detention. If your boss assigns a deadline, we may not feel as guilty. This type of deadline can be written off as arbitrary and unrealistic. Take, for example, the (in)famous deadlines that Elon Musk imposes on his companies and his predictions about self-driving Teslas by 2023 and human presence on Mars in 2033: somebody is going to get shot for being late.

Urgency

Urgency has some value, but its value is often overblown. First mover advantages, too, do not always confer victory in markets. Kodak was the first to make a digital camera, but now it is a moribund remnant of itself. Even a physical race is not guaranteed by being the first off the blocks. Looking at Usain Bolt,^∇ he leaps off the blocks a little slower the than other athletes, but he makes consistent gains as he hits his stride and then outpaces everyone and leads to a win.

Urgency provided by deadlines is mostly an inducement of fear. An email goes out to tell everyone at the company that some people are not fulfilling their commitments because they are not meeting top-down, imposed deadlines. They are not pulling their weight. Changes might need to happen if people are not able to up their game and show they are top performers. I’m not fictionalizing this: it’s an actual email that came from a well-known CEO.

These things happen regularly. Sometimes the threat is bombastic, and sometimes it is delivered quite nicely. A boss might let you pick the deadlines so they can be more realistic and take your estimates into account. They might show concern that you don’t seem happy during your annual review. Managers can be really helpful and kind and try to protect you from the arbitrariness of higher ups or from the punishing realities of a performance formula.

Fear

Deadlines are used to create fear in employees.

But why use fear? Why is it so prevalent? It seems fundamental to Fiat hierarchies! We know from many studies that punishment does not work very well. It has to be nearly instantaneous and the connection between action and punishment has to be super obvious, like putting a hand over a flame.

No Engagement, No Ownership

In a Fiat business, ownership is concentrated at the top.

In a Radical context, people are peer co-managers and co-owners of their company. They have access to power, the work is meaningful, and decision-making is decentralized. With all this, there’s no need for urgency by bosses. There may be self-imposed deadlines, or coordinating deadlines. Missing one is a learning opportunity, not fatal.

You are able to decline one deadline and negotiate an alternative one. For example, when it is something new, it is nearly impossible to make an accurate estimate—that comes out in a conversation with other co-owners. Your peer may be asking for a thing that typically bosses ask for because that is what they know. But your peer is not your boss. You both are co-owners.

Intelligent solutions and not adhering to the conventions of the Fiat work environment translate directly into rewards.

Fear Is All You Know

In a Fiat hierarchy, it becomes more and more justified to use deadlines that cause people to fear for their jobs, their reputation, and their livelihoods. In a Fiat business, as ownership and engagement disappears, fear is all there is.

ENDNOTES

• Usain Bolt. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt>