Stop Announcing Products So Early

Missing an advertised launch date costs more than an embarrassing schedule meeting.

It costs credibility.

Customers make plans around your commitments. Salespeople make promises based on them. Miss enough dates and both groups learn that your dates aren't really dates.

There is a simple answer:

Announce late. Then never miss.

Keep the internal schedule aggressive. Manage it hard. But don't turn an internal target into an external promise until you have enough confidence to keep it.

And once you make that promise, protect it.

A late announcement may disappoint someone for a while.

A missed commitment teaches them not to believe the next one.