Timeline Pressure
Situation
The customer, seller, or internal team asks for a compressed timeline that risks quality, prerequisites, or decision confidence.
What the customer may say
"We need this completed by Friday."
What you should say
"We can work backward from Friday, but we need to be explicit about tradeoffs. Let's confirm the decision-critical items, prerequisites, owners, and what we will defer if time gets tight."
What not to say
"No problem, we can make that happen."
Follow-up question
"What decision or business event is driving that date?"