The longevity of CEOs is shrinking, to the point where a CEO is hired for a year, to accomplish a particular task.

ECONOMIST: Questions for Daniel H. Pink

To find out just how well today's robots work, we tested six of the coolest personal bots currently available for sale in the U.S. ( Click here to see them.) They ranged in price from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars and fell into two broad categories: single-purpose robots, which are designed to accomplish a specific task, and entertainment robots, which exist for pleasure and play.

FORBES: Luxury Robots

Our user experience designer actually gave control of his mouse and keyboard to the tester, giving them a task to accomplish within the application and closely watching how they went about accomplishing said task.

FORBES: 5 Easy Ways To Gain Customer Feedback On Your Product

At Patrol Base Wilson, in Kandahar province's volatile Zhari district, American and Canadian military trainers are trying accomplish a top-priority task, something many Afghans believe can't be done: create a police force that will maintain law and order in a country where few feel safe anymore.

NPR: U.S. Launches Aggressive Training for Afghan Police

The private sector could accomplish this task in less than a year at minimal expense.

FORBES: Why the SEC Is In Danger of Becoming Irrelevant ( February 28, 2006 )

No longer are they focused on a specific task to accomplish.

FORBES: How A Dead Laptop Can Help You 'Practice' For Retirement

Afterwards I told him a story about me trying to accomplish something with a butter knife and how much simpler the task was when someone brought me a drill and I used it instead.

FORBES: From Command To Conversation: Q&A with Shawn Kent Hayashi