“So, if it’s not experience and it’s not skill, what is it?” came the question from the corner.

We had been discussing how you compare the “size” of the role to the “size” of the person.

“Elliott called it capability,” I replied. “One of the largest determining factors (not the ONLY, but the largest) for success in any role is a person’s capability.”

“Aren’t we talking semantics here. Of course, a person has to be capable. Duh!”

“It would be semantics, if capability were just some vague notion. But Elliott found a way to measure it. And it’s not experience, skill, personality or passion. Capability is something measurable, something different inside of each person, something that matures over our lifetime.

“Each of us is born with an innate capability to handle a certain level of complexity in the world. The measure of capability is Time Span. How long into the future are we thinking and executing?

“Two team members, side by side. One can handle a project, as long as its completion date is within the week. The other team member, with higher capability, can plan and execute a project that takes two months to complete. Any competent manager, thinking about their team, can immediately put names to the person with one week capability and the person with two month capability.”