Archived Observation

The main responsibility of a project manager is to make sure that their projects come in on time. Over the last few weeks, some of the groups responsible for bringing up one of my projects have missed their dates. This is why I had to take that damn trip to Colorado Springs… my manager and I needed to get a set of firm, committed dates for the project milestones. We left Colorado Springs feeling like all was under control. Today, I was informed that the dates have slipped by three weeks once again. I spent most of the afternoon dealing with people who when confronted and asked to explain the three week "slippage" took an attitude with me and my management. I don't know about anyone else, but if I miss a date for a project, I expect everyone who depended on me completing that project on that date to read me the riot act. Why don't people take personal responsibility anymore?