“How do you measure the Time Span of a task?” asked Brent. “You say it’s important to match the Time Span of the task with the Time Span capability of the person. So, how do you measure the Time Span of the task?”

“Here’s a trick question for you,” I replied. “How long is a three month project?”

Brent looked puzzled, looking for the trick. “I’ll bite. Three months.”

“Exactly, how did you know?”

“Because it takes three months to complete a three month project?” Brent tested.

“You are correct. And who decided that the project would take three months?”

Brent shrugged his shoulders. He was having trouble playing the game. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just arbitrary. Maybe the project time frame just got pulled out of a hat.”

“I hardly think so. Think about the Phoenix project that your team is working on. How long will it take to complete that project?”

Brent chortled. “Well, three months. It’s complicated, lots of things could go wrong, but we should complete it in three months.”

“Who decided that?” I pressed.

“I did. I have been doing this kind of work for ten years, now. Based on the scope of the project, it should take three months.”

“So, in your discretionary judgment, as a manager, you have determined that the Time Span of the Phoenix project is three months?”

Brent nodded.

“Your question was, how do you measure the Time Span of the task? The Time Span of the task is largely determined by the best judgment of the manager. For every goal set by a manager, there is a ‘by when.’ It is the ‘by when’ that best describes the Time Span of the goal.”