I started telling my crew 'we're done at 3' and it actually works

I mean, I manage a painting crew and for months we were always running late, finishing jobs at like 5:30 or 6. It was killing morale and making the next day's start rough. I read something online, maybe it was a joke, about setting a fake early deadline. So last Tuesday on a big interior job in Portland, I told the guys at the morning huddle, 'Alright, the goal is to wrap this whole first floor by 3 PM today.' Not the real deadline, which was more like 4:30. Idk, maybe it was the clear, specific time, but everyone just moved differently. We took a shorter lunch, nobody dragged their feet after breaks, and we actually finished the section at 2:50. We spent the last 40 minutes doing a killer clean-up and prepping for tomorrow. Has anyone else tried a trick like this with a team, or is it just a fluke that worked for my group?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_stone26d ago

Ever try that with kids, like saying bedtime is 7:30 when it's really 8?

shane_williams26d ago

Oh man, that's brilliant. I mean, I tried something like that with my own team, but I set the fake deadline way too early and they all just looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Totally backfired. Maybe the trick is making it seem actually possible, like your 3 PM goal. I should try that again. And @jason_stone, I do the bedtime thing with my dog, telling him it's time to go out way before I actually need to, just to get him moving. Works like a charm.