Deadline!: How Premier Organizations Win the Race Against Time

At 9:00 on a summer morning, the phone rang in the kitchen of a comfortable California home. The homeowner answered in his usual chipper tone, "Hello?"
"We have your son."
Within hours, the FBI had deployed a team of agents working in a literal life-and-death race against time. Like any organization facng a crucial deadline, the Bureau not only had to think and move quickly, it had to stay focused in the face of enormous pressure and frustrating obstacles.
Though seldom with such high stakes, companies rise to the challenge of tough deadlines every day. For example when Conoco pooled its resources in a monumental relief effort in the aftermath of a "perfect storm," it used exemplary crisis management strategy while helping residents of hundreds of devastated homes, all in one unforgettable weekend of activity. And when Boeing designed and delivered its new state-of-the-art 777 aircraft in record time for its demanding customer United Airlines, the achievement required a profound change in Boeing's own management philosophy.
These stories and others exemplify how organizations facing critical, high-pressure deadlines require unique skills and creative, original strategies. Because without proper deadline management techniques, making the "impossible" happen is, well ... impossible.