“I love deadlines,” Douglas Adams once wrote. “I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.” But the author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” didn’t have to deal with people that complete their projects without regard for his own.

Bottom line: Your co-workers won’t keep your deadlines until they become their deadlines, too. Since you don’t really have a carrot to reward them with, or a stick to reprove them with, the solution is to coax them into personally investing in your deadlines.

First, call a meeting with your co-workers and explain that the program’s milestones aren’t being met. Make them part of the solution by asking what they think the obstacles to completion are, encouraging an open discussion about where the bottlenecks and logjams occur.

Then, give them a stake in the outcome by incorporating their ideas and information into the solutions. Announce their proposed solutions and the team deadlines via e-mail after the meeting. Then update them regularly through e-mail and in person, always highlighting individuals for their help and improvements. You might find, as President Truman did, that “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”