Efficiency is the Enemy of Resilience
Keep that Slack in Your Schedule. It’s There for a Reason
“The unexpected always happens,” wrote Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, “the unexpected is indeed the only thing one can confidently expect. And almost never is it a pleasant surprise.” We all inherently know this. We know that risks and uncertainties are a part of life. We know that things rarely go according to plan. And yet, we can never seem to account for it.
If your boss asks you for a schedule, how does it typically go? You put together a reasonable estimate. Your boss tells you it’s too long. You can’t take that much time. Everyone needs it done sooner.
Make it shorter. Do it faster. Be more efficient.
Take out the slack.
So you do. You assume everything works out perfectly. You cut out all of your margin.
Everyone’s happy.
Until, of course, reality breaks up the party.
I’m always amazed how people assume that if Microsoft Project says it can be done on time, then it will be done on time. Despite years of missing deadlines due to overly aggressive schedules, we continue to set ourselves up for failure.
This misconception isn’t limited to schedules. We’ve spent decades hiring management consultants to…
