What you get is in proportion to what you aim for

It is kind of perfunctory to state it, but I have just experienced it and can relate to it much better than I ever did so far.

My project had a scope increase and everyone was very clear that we were not going to hit the deadline. However, I and the leadership team above me persisted in pushing us towards meeting the deadline. A week before the release, we were in deep trouble, with system testing issues all over the place. With just a week to go before the release, everyone was about to throw in the towel and resign to a delay.

My boss still persisted that we had to go on as per the deadline. We worked hard, late and over the weekend after that to ensure that we get in better shape. Our efforts paid off and we are now in a position to go in for the release.

Looking back, I think about the what our behavior would have been if the leadership team would have agreed to us and our deadline would have been deferred. We would have not stretched hard and even though it might have been possible, we would have most certainly not met the deadline. It is the aim that drove us to perform as much as we could and achieve our goals. A lax target would have relaxed us, and even though the release might have been possible we would have most certainly not made it.