Why exact dates work against you in timelines

In business, you often don't need exact dates in a high-level timeline because the focus is on the overall picture and the main points. Exact dates can be distracting and can take away from the overall message.

Specific dates work against you in 4 key ways:

1. They distract from your main message

2. They can be outdated quickly

3. They can make your timeline seem inflexible

4. They can create a false sense of precision

Lets look at each of these in more detail:

1. Exact dates can distract from your main message

If you're presenting a high-level timeline you really want the audience to focus on the overall story or vision you're selling and the 2 or 3 key milestones that you're working towards. Specific dates for a couple of key dates are usually important, but putting dates on everything is very distracting and can take away from that message.

2. Exact dates can be outdated quickly

If you're presenting a timeline of upcoming events, exact dates can quickly become outdated. It's better to give a general sense of when something is going to happen, rather than an exact date that might need to be changed.

3. Exact dates can make your timeline seem inflexible

If you're presenting a timeline of a project, exact dates can make it seem like the project is inflexible and not open to change. It's better to present a general timeline that can be adapted as needed.

4. Exact dates can create a false sense of precision

If you're presenting a timeline of historical events, exact dates can create a false sense of precision. Business is often complex, and exact dates can give the impression that everything is tidy and straightforward, when it often isn't. Presenting estimation as fact is one of the easiest. ways to undermine yourself when presenting to senior management.