I think you missed my point. "Beating the deadline" means that you deliver something that meets or exceeds expectations within the deadline. You achieve this by pulling two levers: By adjusting expectations and by getting things done.
Crucially, each lever only goes so far — you (usually) can't adjust expectations to the point where you're expected to do zero work, and you can't deliver on impossibly demanding expectations solely by working extra hard.
While you're absolutely right that the "keep shipping" lever is very important, the article provides an example of where you need to pull the other lever early.
Crucially, each lever only goes so far — you (usually) can't adjust expectations to the point where you're expected to do zero work, and you can't deliver on impossibly demanding expectations solely by working extra hard.
While you're absolutely right that the "keep shipping" lever is very important, the article provides an example of where you need to pull the other lever early.