Quote: I choose a lazy person to do a hard job (Attributed to Bill Gates) (Congressional Record Help Request)

[Jonathan Lighter]

It's nonsense, whoever said it.

Unless "lazy" means "extraordinarily efficient."

JL


On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 1:19 AM, Dave Hause <dwhause at cablemo.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dave Hause <dwhause at CABLEMO.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Quote: I choose a lazy person to do a hard job
> (Attributed to
>               Bill Gates) (Congressional Record Help Request)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I see this as going much further back:
>
> http://old-soldier-colonel.blogspot.com/2011/07/field-marshal-moltkes-four-types-of.html
> goes into:
> Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (1800-1891)
> developed this interesting Value Matrix to categorize his officer corps.
> . Smart & Lazy: I make them my Commanders because they make the right thing
> happen but find the easiest way to accomplish the mission.
> ...
> Although I thought I remembered it as attributed to Otto von Bismarck.
> Dave Hause, dwhause at cablemo.net
> Waynesville, MO
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The following statement in various forms has been attributed to tech
> titan Bill Gates:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> I choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will
> find an easy way to do it.
> [End excerpt]
>
> I've been asked to investigate this saying. Similar statements have
> been ascribed to Walter Chrysler the founder of Chrysler Corporation
> and others.
>
> I hypothesize that the quotation was derived from the following short
> news item from 1947.
>
> [ref] 1947 February 1, Omaha World Herald, "To Solve Hard Problem,
> Give It to 'Lazy Man'" (CTPS News Service), Quote Page 1, Column 2,
> Omaha, Nebraska. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> To Solve Hard Problem, Give It to 'Lazy Man'
>
> A tip on how to solve difficult production problems was given the
> Senate Labor Committee Friday by Clarence E. Bleicher, president of
> the Chrysler Corporation's De Soto division.
>
> "When I have a tough job in the plant and can't find an easy way to do
> it," Mr. Bleicher said, "I have a lazy man put on it. He'll find an
> easy way to do it in 10 days. Then we adopt that method."
> [End excerpt]
>
> You can help trace this quotation if you are willing and if you have
> access to a database of the Congressional Record such as the one
> provided by ProQuest. It is possible that the testimony by Clarence E.
> Bleicher was placed into the Congressional Record.
>
> If you find a match please send me the small PDF with the matching
> text (or jpeg screen shots). I am trying to create a complete and
> accurate citation. Hence, data such as (1) title of the hearing (2)
> name of the committee (3) date of the testimony (4) name of the
> speaker (should be Bleicher) etcetera are important.
>
> If you look and do not find a match please let me know.
>
> With appreciation,
> Garson
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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