Busy is the new stupid

January 17, 2019

By Dan Hammond, Chief Disruption Officer, LIW

Last year, as work increased, I noticed that people were starting to say “I know you’re busy but could we talk sometime…’.  Busy was good. It showed that I was useful and important.

I then tried something new. When people said this, I translated it as ‘I know you don’t have time for me but…’  That didn’t feel so good.

Ed Baldwin’s 2016 article sums it up: ‘busy is the new stupid’.

What does this mean for leadership?

Busyness is a problem in a fast-moving world. Rather than trying to keep up, leaders need to slow down to speed up.

In 2019, rather than being busy, try these practices:

  1. Be present
  2. Take time to ask with curiosity
  3. Make conscious choices
  4. Take disciplined action

Oh, and I’m free if you want to talk…

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