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Nothing Hurts Like a Date

Written by

Kevin Sandlin

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A wise friend and business partner many years ago said something to me when we were planning a project with our team. We had the what, the where, the why, and the how. We were all in agreement, and then he asked “when?” We all kinda mumbled and didn’t really give it any credence. Then he said with a little more emphasis, “When are we pulling the trigger? Nothing hurts like a date.”

Nothing hurts like a date. Now I say that all the time, because it’s just so true.

It’s easy to say you’re going to do this or that, but when you put a date on it, it becomes real. Put it on your calendar, and you’ll do it. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their checkbook register (or nowadays their debit card charges) and their calendar. What do they do with their time and what do they do with their money?

Yesterday, in preparation for their final projects, I was providing feedback for several Digital Marketing students, and the most common two pieces of feedback were (1) that their strategy documents were too long and (2) that there were no dates & times to anything. When we create goals, those goals should be “S.M.A.R.T.”: strategic, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time sensitive. Scripture us to  “number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” When you put it on the calendar, it becomes a real thing.

One of the things that I notice about people on a daily basis is whether or not they have any sense of urgency about what they’re doing. Does “when” even matter to them? Yes, we live in a microwave super-size society, so we have come to expect things immediately, but when you’re building something, shouldn’t there be a sense of urgency in building it? That doesn’t mean to hurry and do a poor job. Rather, it means to count the days in which you have to do the thing you’re setting out to do.

How do you number the days? You put a date on the calendar, make it real, and get some sense or urgency behind your action. Then go do it. Nothing hurts like a date written down on a calendar shared with your team.

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