“I see all of that,” Dale responded. “Timing, urgency, quality, priority and necessity. I get it. And I see how understanding Time Span helps me make those decisions.”

“But that’s just the beginning,” I pointed. “There is one more decision. The most important decision a manager makes. As managers, we spend so much time figuring out what to do, how to do, when to do. But the most important decision is who.”

“You’re right,” Dale replied. “And if anything is going to come back to bite me, it’s the decision about who.”

“And Time Span helps us make that decision. Not only does Time Span point to timing, urgency, priority and quality, but Time Span is an indicator for complexity. The shorter the Time Span of a task, the less likely it is to be complex. The longer the Time Span of a task, the more likely uncertainty will creep in and influence the outcome.

Each person is born with an innate ability to deal with a certain amount of uncertainty in the world. That capability can be objectively measured in Time. If we understand the Time Span of the task and understand the Time Span capability of the person, we can create a match. The most important decision a manager has to make is who.”