Extending the Time Horizon

Every New Year, we feel the quiet pressure to squeeze our biggest hopes into a twelve-month box.

I’m not against resolutions. One-year goals matter. They create momentum. They give us a starting line. They get us off the couch and moving in the right direction.

But over time, I’ve noticed something subtle and costly:

When our timelines get shorter, our thinking does too.

We begin optimizing for what can change quickly instead of what truly matters. We chase wins we can point to by December, while postponing, or even abandoning, the decisions that require patience, courage, and trust in the long game.

In our rush to “win the year,” we can unintentionally undermine the future we say we want.

I didn’t see this clearly until a single question interrupted my pattern. It wasn’t about productivity, discipline, or performance. It was about perspective. And the question came from someone who had spent a lifetime making decisions that endured.

One of the greatest gifts in my life has been my relationship with my friend and mentor, Tim Tassopoulos, the retired President of Chick-fil-A.

Whenever I’m facing a complicated decision, when the noise is loud or the stakes feel high. I go to Tim. Many times he has slowed me down with the same disarming question:

“Kevin, how will this decision look two years from now? Three years? Five?”

Tim calls it extending the time horizon. And that simple question has quietly reshaped the way I lead, the way I make decisions, and the way I live.

Most of us make decisions based on the pressure of right now:
the urgency, the emotion, the inbox, the expectations.

But when you extend the time horizon, everything changes.

You gain perspective.
Your priorities sharpen.
You trade reaction for intention.

And your decisions get wiser, better, and far more purposeful.

What if you extended the time horizon on…

• This big business decision you’re about to make?
• The hiring or firing choice you’re wrestling with?
• The risky but meaningful idea you’ve been afraid to pursue?
• The important ask you know you need to make?
• The partnership or opportunity that feels uncertain today?
• The tough family decision you’re avoiding?
• The boundaries you set (or fail to set) with your time?
• The investment you make in your marriage or friendships?
• The habits you’re forming or the ones you’re tolerating?
• The legacy you’re building, even in the smallest choices?

Here’s the truth Tim helped me see:

Short-term thinking creates short-term results.
Long-term thinking creates long-term impact.

So here’s my challenge to you today:

Pick one decision you’re wrestling with right now…just one.
Then ask Tim’s question:
“How will this look two, three, five years from now?”

Make the decision your future self will thank you for.And commit to living and leading with a longer horizon.