How to Orient your Launch Around a Date

Diana Scharf Hunt, the author of “Tao of Time” once wrote that “goals are dreams with deadlines.” In other words, we as humans have the ability to economize and leverage time as a currency. It can drive us, make us anxious, become a rallying cry for a team with audacious goals.

On the flip side, author Douglas Adams is quotes as saying “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” A different perspective, perhaps.

If you’re like me, you respond positively to a stated date. For god’s sake, it’s why we named our product “Launch Day”! So, in terms of launch orchestration, what is the date? Really smart marketers have told us that launches never really end, and we get that. But if the team is to timebox their efforts of getting out to the market, how can a launch team achieve this?

Here’s what we find works. Pick a date as the event. In some cases, maybe it’s the day that the product release gets rolled out to the masses. Maybe it’s the day the press release hits the newswire. Maybe it’s the day you host an internal webinar for your organization. This single day is your Launch Day, your orientation point. In our example, let’s call that “June 15”.

Armed with a date, one can now plot out everything that goes into a product launch. So, next step is defining everything other activity or task necessary to make the launch a success. In these terms, define items as “t-minus” in days. So, how long before the launch do I need to have my pricing in order? Two weeks? Cool, then the deadline for pricing becomes “June 1”.

The “t minus” model works because all activity is built around supporting the most important part of the launch.

Is this a model you use or want to use? Something else? What do you like or dislike about defining a “launch day”?

Happy launching,

Launch Day