The Curious Case of the Lazy Achiever!
“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job.
Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it!” (Bill Gates)
I read about this quote from Bill Gates a while back and could well associate it with some of the professional achievers I have seen throughout my career. Yes, some of them have achieved a lot despite coming across as primarily lazy or laid back persons. It totally flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which says to be successful one should be a disciplined hard worker apart from having the other core competencies to be successful in their roles. However I do find a few possible drivers that catapult them to their success, despite their seeming lack of effort.
From my past experiences, an example that I can cite relates to a 7 day hackathon that we had on upgrading a product feature. The most productive employee was almost twice as effective as the second best one. This takes significance as the two of them put together accounted for 70% of the actual code written; the rest 9 programmers accounting for the remaining 30%. The major surprise was that this most productive employee had earlier received a “needs improvement” rating by his supervisor during his last performance appraisal, as he was lagging in most of his Key Result Areas (KRAs). He was described as “slow and lazy” by his supervisor on his performance feedback and was on the verge of being terminated for poor performance. However when a senior manager identified his coding abilities and removed all other goals save one from his performance measure, his focus and hence productivity jumped making him a star performer!
When I asked this star performer on how he did it, I was surprised by his response. While his colleagues where spending time on preparing for daily and weekly meetings, he had been doing research on new coding techniques. The trigger for it was based on his primary approach to work – never extend your work hours under delivery pressure. He had realised that most of his colleagues ended up stretching their time due to poor code quality and improper unit testing, which often resulted in rework.
This newly acquired skill helped him generate higher quality code in a shorter span of time during the event. Additionally he minimised the use of remarks and comments in the program, which made the use of his limited coding time more effective.
How do we recognise such lazy people and manage them to turn this apparently negative work trait into an advantage? I have the following thoughts to share.
Characteristics of a lazy person
One would believe it is relatively easy to identify a lazy person at the workplace. They are the ones who typically show a visible lack of energy while going about their tasks. However what causes it? If we rule out any physiological disorder, most of it arises due to a lack of motivation. These people typically are not ambitious and look at office work as a series of endless tasks without any end in sight. They approach office work as a marathon runner, conserving energy for the long haul, instead of a sprinter who needs to expend all his/her energy on a short burst to their goals. Hence their approach to life is “be satisfied with what you have” and they don’t crave for more. They also have a kind of detachment from what is happening around them in the office.
Now are these people lazy at all the times. Apparently not! I have witnessed some of these folks converting into party animals, or taking active part in sporting and cultural events. Unless you put it to having a split personality, the trigger for this change is the interest they display for these activities which in turn affects their mental makeup. Change the scenario to what motivates them and you are likely to have all their energy, interest and commitment coming back on track.
Motivation – key to converting lethargy to performance
In many cases perceived monotony, which may be of repetitive nature, can seriously affect a person’s motivation levels. This often results in creating a mechanical monster – with a slow and steady approach to work. Hence if we change the nature of their work and its pace, keeping the “steady” part constant, we can possibly change their approach to work. As the joke goes between the Drill Sergeant and the lazy Soldier:
Sergeant: How did you finish the 5 kilometres run so quickly, when you are often the last to finish the other assigned tasks?
Soldier: Sir, running 5 kilometres is a difficult task and it is very strenuous on the body. Hence I like to finish it as fast as possible so that I can take a proper rest before commencing the other tasks.
The idea is to convert their mind set from a marathon runner to that of a sprinter! Just as the sprinter sees immediate results for his/her effort, the work tasks should ideally be broken down into a series of short term goals and objectives with instant recognition on achievement. Once we clearly identify and properly communicate the measures for their success, chances are likely they will try to find the fastest possible way to get there.
The practical aspects – some keys to success
There are various possible ways to convert this lethargic inertia into positive energy. Some of them are as follows:
1. Identify what motivates them – It is important to find out what motivates them, whether it is higher compensation, job enrichment, or flexible work hours etc.
2. Highlight their skills and abilities while underplaying their obvious weaknesses – Tell them clearly about their potential and how they can contribute directly to the organisation’s success with their skill, knowledge and abilities. You should avoid any negative personal references; a big turn off is telling them that they are lazy.
3. Give them clear goals and remove any alternatives – Setting a clear and measurable short term goal, of 1-3 month timeframe, is the ideal place to start. By removing all options and making the goal singular, they will have better focus and find the fastest way to complete their assigned tasks.
4. Reward them on achievement of the set goals – These rewards should be tangible and ideally based on their motivation keys defined in point 1 above.
5. Keep repeating by gradually introducing tougher goals with higher rewards on achievement – Once they know that their smart (not hard) work pays, they will make it a habit.
A supportive eco system – a prerequisite to make the plan work!
If the organisational policies do not allow much flexibility in assigning work to an individual employee, then it will be almost impossible for a lazy person to ever become highly productive. The key to making them productive is to make them do tasks that they find of interest and which complements their core competencies. Another aspect is to minimise decision making so that they do not wait for approvals and have any reasons to delay the execution of tasks. Also reducing any tasks which they find to be of low value or repetitive, can help in maintaining higher levels of interest and commitment towards their assigned goals.
Converting a personal weakness to a competitive advantage
Some of the best programmers and software architects that I have met can often be categorized as lazy by the casual observer. They hardly come prepared to regular meetings, do not treat time as linear (are not punctual) and often show a complete lack of interest in activities outside their area of work. Based on these behavioural traits, many organisations often make the mistake of writing them off. However if they have the required job competencies and only lack the motivation to perform, it might be a good idea to make the right investment of time and effort on them. If we modify their roles to leverage their strengths and provide them with the right support and guidance, they might well turn out to be a key source of innovation and high performance. By nature they will often try to find the fastest solution for every assigned task, which can be a key source of competitive advantage for the organisation in the long term!
If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is sometimes its father (Stephen Shapiro)
“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job.
Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it!” (Bill Gates)
I read about this quote from Bill Gates a while back and could well associate it with some of the professional achievers I have seen throughout my career. Yes, some of them have achieved a lot despite coming across as primarily lazy or laid back persons. It totally flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which says to be successful one should be a disciplined hard worker apart from having the other core competencies to be successful in their roles. However I do find a few possible drivers that catapult them to their success, despite their seeming lack of effort.
From my past experiences, an example that I can cite relates to a 7 day hackathon that we had on upgrading a product feature. The most productive employee was almost twice as effective as the second best one. This takes significance as the two of them put together accounted for 70% of the actual code written; the rest 9 programmers accounting for the remaining 30%. The major surprise was that this most productive employee had earlier received a “needs improvement” rating by his supervisor during his last performance appraisal, as he was lagging in most of his Key Result Areas (KRAs). He was described as “slow and lazy” by his supervisor on his performance feedback and was on the verge of being terminated for poor performance. However when a senior manager identified his coding abilities and removed all other goals save one from his performance measure, his focus and hence productivity jumped making him a star performer!
When I asked this star performer on how he did it, I was surprised by his response. While his colleagues where spending time on preparing for daily and weekly meetings, he had been doing research on new coding techniques. The trigger for it was based on his primary approach to work – never extend your work hours under delivery pressure. He had realised that most of his colleagues ended up stretching their time due to poor code quality and improper unit testing, which often resulted in rework.
This newly acquired skill helped him generate higher quality code in a shorter span of time during the event. Additionally he minimised the use of remarks and comments in the program, which made the use of his limited coding time more effective.
How do we recognise such lazy people and manage them to turn this apparently negative work trait into an advantage? I have the following thoughts to share.
Characteristics of a lazy person
One would believe it is relatively easy to identify a lazy person at the workplace. They are the ones who typically show a visible lack of energy while going about their tasks. However what causes it? If we rule out any physiological disorder, most of it arises due to a lack of motivation. These people typically are not ambitious and look at office work as a series of endless tasks without any end in sight. They approach office work as a marathon runner, conserving energy for the long haul, instead of a sprinter who needs to expend all his/her energy on a short burst to their goals. Hence their approach to life is “be satisfied with what you have” and they don’t crave for more. They also have a kind of detachment from what is happening around them in the office.
Now are these people lazy at all the times. Apparently not! I have witnessed some of these folks converting into party animals, or taking active part in sporting and cultural events. Unless you put it to having a split personality, the trigger for this change is the interest they display for these activities which in turn affects their mental makeup. Change the scenario to what motivates them and you are likely to have all their energy, interest and commitment coming back on track.
Motivation – key to converting lethargy to performance
In many cases perceived monotony, which may be of repetitive nature, can seriously affect a person’s motivation levels. This often results in creating a mechanical monster – with a slow and steady approach to work. Hence if we change the nature of their work and its pace, keeping the “steady” part constant, we can possibly change their approach to work. As the joke goes between the Drill Sergeant and the lazy Soldier:
Sergeant: How did you finish the 5 kilometres run so quickly, when you are often the last to finish the other assigned tasks?
Soldier: Sir, running 5 kilometres is a difficult task and it is very strenuous on the body. Hence I like to finish it as fast as possible so that I can take a proper rest before commencing the other tasks.
The idea is to convert their mind set from a marathon runner to that of a sprinter! Just as the sprinter sees immediate results for his/her effort, the work tasks should ideally be broken down into a series of short term goals and objectives with instant recognition on achievement. Once we clearly identify and properly communicate the measures for their success, chances are likely they will try to find the fastest possible way to get there.
The practical aspects – some keys to success
There are various possible ways to convert this lethargic inertia into positive energy. Some of them are as follows:
1. Identify what motivates them – It is important to find out what motivates them, whether it is higher compensation, job enrichment, or flexible work hours etc.
2. Highlight their skills and abilities while underplaying their obvious weaknesses – Tell them clearly about their potential and how they can contribute directly to the organisation’s success with their skill, knowledge and abilities. You should avoid any negative personal references; a big turn off is telling them that they are lazy.
3. Give them clear goals and remove any alternatives – Setting a clear and measurable short term goal, of 1-3 month timeframe, is the ideal place to start. By removing all options and making the goal singular, they will have better focus and find the fastest way to complete their assigned tasks.
4. Reward them on achievement of the set goals – These rewards should be tangible and ideally based on their motivation keys defined in point 1 above.
5. Keep repeating by gradually introducing tougher goals with higher rewards on achievement – Once they know that their smart (not hard) work pays, they will make it a habit.
A supportive eco system – a prerequisite to make the plan work!
If the organisational policies do not allow much flexibility in assigning work to an individual employee, then it will be almost impossible for a lazy person to ever become highly productive. The key to making them productive is to make them do tasks that they find of interest and which complements their core competencies. Another aspect is to minimise decision making so that they do not wait for approvals and have any reasons to delay the execution of tasks. Also reducing any tasks which they find to be of low value or repetitive, can help in maintaining higher levels of interest and commitment towards their assigned goals.
Converting a personal weakness to a competitive advantage
Some of the best programmers and software architects that I have met can often be categorized as lazy by the casual observer. They hardly come prepared to regular meetings, do not treat time as linear (are not punctual) and often show a complete lack of interest in activities outside their area of work. Based on these behavioural traits, many organisations often make the mistake of writing them off. However if they have the required job competencies and only lack the motivation to perform, it might be a good idea to make the right investment of time and effort on them. If we modify their roles to leverage their strengths and provide them with the right support and guidance, they might well turn out to be a key source of innovation and high performance. By nature they will often try to find the fastest solution for every assigned task, which can be a key source of competitive advantage for the organisation in the long term!
If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is sometimes its father (Stephen Shapiro)
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