The CEO demands to cut the deadlines in half. How do you defend the plan?

To protect the plan when asked to cut deadlines in half, it is important to show objective consequences and compromises:

• Risk analysis: Explain that halving the deadlines will lead to increased risks — quality decreases, errors and rework become more likely.
• Task prioritization: Suggest reviewing the scope of work, highlighting critical functions, and postponing or removing less important ones.
• Resources: Show that to cut deadlines in half, either resources need to be doubled or technologies need to be changed.
• Data demonstration: Use Gantt charts, effort estimates, and dependencies to visually show why deadlines cannot be shortened without losses.
• Alternatives: Offer compromise options — for example, phased releases with minimal functionality in a short time.

Thus, you are not just refusing but proposing justified solutions and showing the consequences.