The 19th century Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke used to categorise his officers as belonging to one of four types.
First, there were the not-so-bright and lazy. These people were mainly harmless, were useful for menial tasks and did what they were told.
Then there were the not-so-bright but industrious – and these people were a menace. They did the wrong things, generally caused chaos and created unnecessary work for others. They needed to be rooted out and removed.
Then there were the smart and industrious. These people made excellent general staff officers as they largely made sensible plans, got on with things, and did what was required in an intelligent way.
Finally, there were the smart and lazy, who were suited for the highest office. Why? Because their laziness led them to do the right thing in the easiest possible way.
However, the term “lazy” was not meant in a pejorative sense by von Moltke, because these officers never threw brute force (in their case, that involved the lives of their soldiers) at a mission. They used their intelligence to find the easiest, least costly solution.
I suspect many of us could pigeon-hole most of our work colleagues into one of the above categories. In fact, it makes a good exercise, as the distribution within the quadrant is a classic Pippa Malmgren “signal” as to the potential of your employer.
A bare top right (smart and lazy) and you’re not going anywhere fast.
Which is where tech comes in, because the fundamental characteristic of well-designed technology is to remove friction and simplify processes.
I need a taxi; open the Über app and, within a few clicks, it’s on the way. I want a book; open the Amazon app, search, tap on 1Click order and it’s on the way. I need a flight, or a hotel room, or some insurance, or directions, or pretty much anything and whizz, bang, pop, it’s done. The smart but lazy way is best.
So how is it at your company? How long does it take you to do what you need to do? And how easy is it for your customers, or partners, or suppliers to deal with you?
If you were one of your customers, would you honestly say that dealing with your company was both easy and a pleasure?
The British Council for Offices, in its Building Performance report, found that just 17% of office occupiers surveyed rated satisfaction with the way their property was managed as good or excellent.
Is that an outlier within the industry, or par for the course?
The property industry is full of smart people. So why are so many of their customers not happy?
Could it be that by not embracing technology, we simply cannot provide the service our customers desire?
It is time for more smart but lazy thinking – time to grasp the potential of “the machines” and do much more with much less.
Essential tech for property people Web Summit
Web Summit, which has been called “the best technology conference on the planet”, takes place in Dublin on 2-5 November.
Why should you go? For two reasons. Firstly, the number of attendees has grown from 400 to 22,000 in just four years. And if you go, you will see why.
The summit aims to throw technology at “engineering serendipity”, which means trying to ensure the events that delegates attend – in and outside the conference – enable them to meet the people who are most likely to be “right” for them. Google this to find out how it works.
Secondly, property people are great at networking, but normally only with people just like themselves. We live in Eli Pariser’s ‘filter bubble’.
At Web Summit, they will be exposed to a ‘parallel world’, where everything changes in just the time it takes to conceive and complete a decent-sized property development.
The cream of this archetypal ‘smart and lazy’ industry will be there and attendees will get a feel for why “retail is dead”, “the office is dead”, and “the end of self-driving cars” might not be such fanciful notions.
Web Summit is billed as the event where the true believers in “software is eating the world” get together. And what they are doing is claimed to be about to change the requirements across every property class.
What happens at Web Summit in November might not affect people’s everyday lives immediately, but the organisers claim to guarantee that any notions they may have about “business as usual” will be severely challenged.
And, of course, attendees are invited to follow the Google dress code: “You must wear something.” No need to pack that suit, then.
Antony Slumbers is founder and chief executive of software developer Estates Today
