When I look back on 20 years in GIS, the moment that changed my career was not technical.
It was a question I could not answer.
I had been a GIS Manager for several years. I had built infrastructure, secured budgets, navigated political turnover, and mentored analysts who became senior leaders. I knew the technology better than almost anyone in the building.
And then a new executive joined our organization. She asked me, in our first meeting:
"What does your program need to look like in five years for the organization to consider it indispensable?"
I had spent 15 years preparing for technical questions.
