“If you can measure the Time Span of the project and you can measure the Time Span of the team member, how is that helpful to you, as a manager?” I asked.

Marcus laughed. “Obvious isn’t it? If I know the Time Span of the project, why would I want to assign it to someone without the capability?”

“But you just described the difficulty of assigning a project. What criteria did you use before you selected the person?”

“You mean the person with the deer-in-the-headlights look?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“I guess I didn’t think. Seemed simple to me, but I guess not so simple for someone else.”

“What will you change as you think about projects you are handing out?”

“My problem, I was thinking about myself, my own Time Span orientation. That’s why the project looked simple. I have to really put myself in the Time Span shoes of the person I selected.”