A New Year’s Resolution - Stop Working Smarter

The new year is here and many of us are now embracing the noble tradition of looking back at the past year along with its successes and failures, taking stock of those missteps, those failures to ‘be all we can be’. We are now resolving with the best of intentions to do one thing this year that will get us back on track towards a better self. It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions.

Finding that perfect resolution can sometimes be a challenge. So much to improve upon and so little time - an endless list of tweaks and fixes, improvements and adjustments. Where can we get the best bang for our buck? The inspiration for my resolution this year came courtesy of a LinkedIn feed of an article by Jeff Haden, "21 Things Bosses Say That Are Total BS". To Jeff’s credit, he inspired me to make 2 resolutions - but we’ll get to that soon enough.

An interesting read, the author goes through a number of phrases you may or may not have heard from your boss - some cliche, some insulting, and some perhaps willfully ambiguous (though all likely said in an attempt to appear wise, inspiring, or demonstrative of a strong leader). One truly caught my attention:

#5 says: "Work smarter, not harder."

The context to his reaction is: “One: You imply I'm stupid. Two: You imply whatever I'm doing should take a lot less time and effort than it has been taking. And three: After you say it, I'm kinda pissed off.” His main issue with what I will herein term the ‘work smart / be smart’ platitude, appears to be the implication that I (employee) should be more efficient in my work, but without the leadership and guidance from you (boss) to show me that better way, or the humility to admit that you are as clueless as I am. Or perhaps you even lack the ability and/or interest to get in there and work with me to find that solution.

While definitely relating to Jeff's perspective, hearing his rail against the ‘work smart / be smart’ platitude stirred within me a bit of a different reaction, perhaps akin to the author’s latter note about being “pissed off”, that inexplicable disdain based on truths I cannot yet put my finger on (well until now, that is)… and hence my New Year’s Resolution #1 to share and elaborate upon the upcoming public service announcement:

Stop working smarter - it’s bad for your health.

A prior life as an engineering consultant to companies large and small afforded me the benefit of hearing this request emanate countless times from customers, managers, counterparts, and colleagues. Whether expressed in the form noted or in more subtle but essentially equivalent terms, these words have always triggered warning signs felt deep in the pit of my stomach. Something instantly doesn’t sit right with that comment. What is one supposed to do with a suggestion to ‘work smarter’ or ‘be smarter’? With no specifics accompanying this platitude, we’re clearly not having a conversation about the work product, so what is then? What do you really think should be done differently?

Cutting straight to the chase, what took me some time to catch on to but which then became glaringly obvious, was that ‘do it smarter’ translates to ‘don’t do it right’. Why do I say that? Because ‘do it smart’ or ‘work smart’ or ‘let’s be smart’ always means to me, once those rose colored glasses are removed, that ‘I don’t think it should take as long as you say it should. I don’t think it should cost as much as you think it should’. ‘I think you’re adding too much non value-add efforts. I think you should do what I asked you to, and do it faster and cheaper?’

‘Don’t do it right ?!?!’ you gasp.. ‘What kind of self-respecting individual would ask me to do that?’ Now don’t get me wrong. I have always worked with professionals of utmost integrity and have never questioned the outright intention behind this request. More likely than not even they don’t realize just what they are asking when those words leave their lips. Deep down though, that is indeed what they are suggesting, which is precisely what makes the ‘work smart / be smart’ platitude so dangerous. You’re asking me to compromise on how I do things without even realizing it, and even worse without me even realizing it. Well my dear reader, now is the time for you to realize it.

More often than not, the thing you are being asked to compromise is quality or process, that seemingly burdensome regimen of tasks and hurdles that at cursory glance add nothing to the work product while only slowing things down and racking up the dollars. But upon deeper consideration, these are the set of rules or guidelines that we make sure to follow so that our work is done right. These guidelines form the basis of how we ensure the work product is sound, and if we are truly masters of our craft then many are already built into our way of working.

So what should our answer be? Simply speaking it should be “NO”. “No I can not do it faster, nor should I try. No I can not do it cheaper, nor should I try.” Why not? Because the very thing you are suggesting I avoid, is what enables me to deliver the work product in the manner I originally proposed. Take away the parts that you think are extra, and there goes the measures I had put in place to ensure success to begin with.

I could certainly dive into the virtues and benefits of quality and process, and just why they are so valuable. But that would be a completely different discussion worthy of another post or two. Let’s just take it on faith that we all have special ways of doing things that make sure it’s done right (quality), and keep the focus of this piece on the dangers of the ‘be smart / work smart’ platitude.

So here goes: While the simple answer to the ‘work smart / be smart’ platitude should be ‘NO’, that’s not usually what happens. Why not? Because if you came right out and asked me “I need it cheaper and sooner - can’t you just do what I need and skip all the extras?”, then that’s an easy one to answer - ‘HELL, NO!’, or more subtly - ‘That’s not going to happen as those items are not extras as you suggest. They are actually essentials.’ But if you couch that same question in the insidious ‘Be Smart / Work Smart’ form, well that’s a totally different story. How should you answer that question in the negative without calling into question your wisdom, experience, and expertise? How can you possibly object to this suggestion when anything to the contrary would imply you are not smart?

Think of it as the adult version of ‘What are you… Chicken??’ We all know that nothing good is going to come of what happens next, but how many of us trust in the proud child's ability to turn down the challenge to prove their bravery?

So there you are, drawn into a battle to defend your ego, agreeing to cast aside all things known better, to meet your challenge to achieve the same result faster and cheaper than you know to be possible. And as with the ‘chicken’ taunt, here too we all know just too well how things will turn out. Ironically, not only will the end result not be an improvement, but it will likely make matters worse. Sadly, this will only add more fuel to the fire of the caster of the ‘work smart / be smart’ challenge, who will then of course further insist that you should have been even 'smarter' than you were. Round and round the circle goes - Vicious it is when we don’t trust in ourselves.

I’ve witnessed numerous instances where teams double down on the process and achieve fabulous results on efficiencies and cost. I’ve also seen numerous instances where the team skimped on the process and paid the price, not just with wildly over-budget projects delivered late (if at all), but with countless escapes, rework, and customer dissatisfaction. You skip steps now to get ‘a’ product out to the customer faster, only to regret things months down the line when you're still investing time and resources trying to make things right. It is hard enough dealing with the pressures of budget and schedule in the best of situations. Things rarely go completely as planned, and a well thought out process and infrastructure upon which to execute is vital towards keeping teams agile and responsive enough to react properly to the ever changing realities on the ground. Take that away and even the most modest a misstep can completely derail an effort.

I recently came upon a quote that I found rather applicable to this discussion, so I will take the creative license to reword it a bit leaving you to fill in the blank:.

“ <Doing it Right> is like the brakes on your car. They slow you down but also make it possible for you to go faster.”

Doing it right, whatever form that takes and is applicable to you, be it process, or quality, or any other form you feel appropriate, is what allows you to execute at the higher levels you expect of yourself. Never skimp on that or you are sure to crash and burn.

So dear reader, then next time you hear that ‘Be Smart /Work Smart’ request, take heed of my warning. Have the fortitude to see the request for what it truly is, and confidently respond in the negative or at the very least solicit some real advice. If you can keep that resolution this year as well, I assure you that your year will be a successful one.

As to my 2nd resolution, I’ll get into that in my next installment where I hope to discuss some other fallacies of workplace inspiration... tune in!