Focusing on past accomplishments creates obstacles to success in the present. If you're still talking about something great you did 20 years ago like it was yesterday, your ego is getting in the way.

What you did in the past makes a good story. What you're doing now makes a difference.

However, the converse is also true here. After zooming out and taking a multi-year view, you might realize that you’ve gotten stuck and aren’t progressing as quickly as you’d like. This can act as a wakeup call to start taking stronger actions to make a difficult change.

The questions were, ‘What did you accomplish?’ ‘What will you accomplish next?’ ‘How can you improve?’” “That’s it?” “Not quite. The question on the back was, ‘Are you embracing the values?”