Negotiationintermediate
The Impossible Timeline
Leadership wants a project delivered in half the realistic timeline.
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The situation
My VP wants a major feature shipped in 4 weeks — my team estimates 8-10 weeks minimum. They keep saying "let's find a way to make it work" without engaging with the technical constraints. I need to negotiate a realistic timeline without seeming negative.
Who you will be talking to: Evasive Negotiator
They'll seem cooperative and agreeable but avoid concrete commitments. Expect vague language, topic shifts when pressed for details, and new conditions introduced after apparent agreement.
What tends to work
- Pin down specifics — ask "What exactly are you agreeing to?" before moving on
- Summarize agreements aloud and get explicit confirmation
- When they shift the goalpost, name it: "That's different from what we discussed"
One way to open: “Before we go further, I want to make sure we're aligned on what we've already agreed to.”
Say it out loud, then see what you said
Reading about a hard conversation is not the same as having it. You talk to an AI counterpart by voice, like a phone call, and afterwards get a scorecard that quotes your own words: what helped, and what to try next time.