Project story: Are 10 years too long to achieve your goal?

Project story: Are 10 years too long to achieve your goal?

Back in 2015–17, during my early consulting days at ZS, I was deeply impressed by my manager’s remarkable memory and his ability to connect the dots across various project tasks. He could casually recall a minor client request—like shifting a ZIP code from one territory to another—while heating his breakfast or driving, and immediately explain its ripple effects on Incentive Compensation (IC), dashboards, target lists, contests, or even annual awards.

At the time, I believed this was a skill I could never acquire. I had never been someone who memorized concepts—whether it was science definitions or even people’s names. So, I assumed this kind of mental sharpness was out of reach for me. 😌 

But here I am, nearly a decade later, and something has changed. Over the past year, I’ve found myself naturally recalling tasks and their downstream impacts across multiple projects. I now proactively remind my team about old tasks and their inter-connections—just like my manager once did. 🙂 

What made the difference? Looking back, I believe it comes down to one thing: focus. During client calls and team huddles, I’ve trained myself to be fully present. No multitasking. No distractions. Just active listening and engagement. That simple shift has made all the difference. 

P.S. Personally, 10 years seemed like a short span to accomplish something so challenging for me! 

And My wife dislikes that I can recall and link past points to argue more effectively during our disputes 😇 

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Read past stories like above at https://lnkd.in/d9ijze8r