Work Less, Bullshit More…Wait, what?

As counterintuitive as the post of this title is, I believe it’s true.  I mean, not if you’re naturally a terrible worker who just talks all day but if you’re chasing financial independence chances are you’re naturally tilted towards putting your head down and working hard.  At the very least work less, bullshit more has it’s place.  If you want to get ahead at your job: work less, bullshit more.

In life and in the workplace in order to get noticed and stand out you often have to go above and beyond the call of duty.  For years I thought this strictly meant work harder.  That’s been my mantra for the last several years.

It’s an easy mantra to have because it doesn’t require much thinking or nuance.  Just work harder.  Get passed up for a raise?  Put your head down and work harder.  Didn’t get the job assignment you wanted?  Work harder. Not getting the results in the gym you want?  Work harder.

The Hardest Worker in the Room…is Probably a Dick

I’ve been proud of my ability to outwork, or at least out effort, my coworkers.  If I wasn’t getting the results I’d wanted I knew it was because I didn’t work hard enough.  Sure I’d be upset and blame X,Y or Z initially, but when I’d really look back and reflect on why I didn’t achieve what I’d wanted I knew it was my own doing.  You can always work harder.  I must not have been working hard enough.

This has typically served me well, especially in the more labor intensive jobs of my youth.   Now that I’m a little older, and getting myself into jobs that require more finesse than just strictly a strong work ethic, I’ve found a new career skill that I’d never fully developed.

The Art…of Bullshitting.

Now, I say “the art” because it’s just that, an art.  Everyone can point to those idiot coworkers who just sit there and gab all day without getting anything done.  Nobody likes those coworkers.  Don’t be those people.  Those coworkers on the opposite end of the spectrum who put their head down and work hard are generally liked, but often not remembered, after they leave.

The sweet spot is that middle ground.  That person who has perfected the art of bullshitting while getting their work done.  Expert bullshitting serves many purposes.  First, it’s physically easier than actually working. Second, it takes up time otherwise dedicated to doing some work related task. Most importantly, bullshitting gets people to like you.

Getting people to like you is the single biggest skill that can help your career.

It’s the difference between getting that callback or not.  When people really like you you’ll find yourself getting job offers for places you’ve never applied for because someone, somewhere, remembered you.

Every job I’ve ever had at some point a boss has needed to hire someone and has asked the employees if they knew of anyone.  Nobody gave the names of the people who were the most proficient.  They gave the names of people they really liked.

My Hero…

My main coworker is a bullshitting efficienado.  He’s magnificent at it.  We’ve had many conversations about the art of bullshitting. We work together on projects almost every day and are great friends.  When there is a set labor task we have to get done I run circles around him.  If we need to sweep out a duplex I’ll have my side entirely finished and walk over to help him with his side and he’ll be not even halfway done.

At the end of the day though the whole house gets swept out.  If you were to ask all the contractors which one of us they liked better, they’d probably say him because he took the time to bullshit with them.  I was too preoccupied with getting the job done.

The Labor vs. The Job

Really, he was the one actually doing the important work.  He’s formed relationships with the guys to where they’ll go out of their way to help him if he needs it.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s not lazy.  He’s one of the hardest workers I know.  He just doesn’t sprint to the end goal of getting any particular job done.  He takes his time, bullshitting along the way with whoever happens across his path.

He’s a much better project manager than I am because our job is not to sweep a house. Sweeping a house is just some labor we have to do in order to get our job done. Our job is to manage the building of a house.  We just sweep the house to keep it clean for the guys doing all the actual building.  I tend to get wrapped up in some menial task whereas he sees the bigger picture of building the relationships.

In the End It’s the Relationships That Count

Relationally I know I blend in with most other project managers who are nice and easy to get a long with.  If I left the company the hardwood guys probably wouldn’t be upset until their floors started being dirty or if I was replaced with a jerk.  If he left the company they would be seriously bummed out because he’s everyone’s friend. They don’t care who did more actual sweeping.  He makes everyone on the job feel special.

It takes a balance of both.  You can’t have someone who strictly bullshits and you can’t have someone who just works hard but doesn’t form relationships.  He does a great job at balancing both.

It’s hard for me to stop and smell the roses even though I like roses.  It’s hard to stop and bullshit.  I’ve got places to be and I’m three stops behind.  At the end of the day though it’s the people you form relationships with that matter.  The work will get done.

It's hard to step back and admit when someone is doing a better job than you are.  Once you recognize this you can make a change and improve your circumstance.

This something I’m working on.  My personality is such that I know I don’t ever have to worry about slacking too much.  If you’re the type who will take any excuse to take a break and chat with your coworkers this probably isn’t great advice.  You’re probably doing enough bullshitting already.  But if you’re like me, and you have a hard time pulling away from whatever task you’re working on, try to focus on building relationships more.  Take a little longer to finish the project if it gives you a chance to build a better relationship with those around you.

Work less, bullshit more.

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