When I woke up this morning, the thought sprang to mind, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” Benjamin Franklin, who coined this phrase, was a multitasking pro – inventing the lightning rod, peering through handmade bifocals and spouting pithy aphorisms while corralling electricity in a ruffled shirt.
I’m not sure, 200 years later, I’m buying it. I have worked for three days now, and I feel like a busy person. Busy people say a rosary on the way to work, while juggling coffee, a cell phone and a hairbrush don’t they? They write things down on scraps of paper, shuffle indecipherable catalogues, and when they slam their breaks in traffic (and take time out from praying to shout, “Where’d you get your license asshole?”), their dry-cleaning, bag lunch, stray papers and mismatched running shoes slam the floorboards like kittens in a grocery bag…
I understand the concept – busy people are active, energetic people. But, with all due respect to Mr. Franklin, I’d like to add: give it to a busy, organized person. And even then, I’m not sure an important project will get the attention it deserves. Give it to an energetic person who just finished a project and is free to do another one? It loses something in the translation…
Bill Gates said, ““I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” I’m not buying that either. Lazy people are inactive people. And I think Bill was just trying to be controversial, because his people slide down slides and jog at lunchtime and run around shouting, “Eureka!” I do not think you could find a single lazy person working for Microsoft. Bill Gates would have to buy a lazy person to test his theory…
Am I the only one who thinks they kind of look alike?
How about this? If you want a job done, ask a sober person.
Ask an organized, busy, energetic, grateful, non-lazy (unless for some weird reason you want us to act lazy to test your silly theory), thankful, excited, appreciative, sober person.
I promise we’ll do what it takes to get the job done…
