I don’t know.
A Lot of people I know think I’m a hard worker. I think they’re full of it. I don’t work hard at all.
When I used to run a lead generation firm, I saw a lot of flaws in the system. I would have to interview everyone and train them. Then from there, I would have to manage them as well.
It sounded overwhelming.
So I thought to myself, “How in the world can I slack off at work”, just like what you do.
I pondered really hard about this, because this was something I really wanted to do. I love slacking off. It’s amazing. It makes me feel like my life has a purpose. A purpose to do much more important things other than work. You know, like listening to music and going on Facebook.
So I created a streamlined system, piece by piece.
To shorten the interview process, I created a series of six youtube videos for my interviewees to watch. That cut off around 20 minutes per interview. It let me just focus on the real questions that mattered.
“Can you see yourself doing this?”
“I see you have experience doing this and that.”
“You’ve been jobless for x months, why should I hire you?”
“Are you willing for a week on a trial basis […]?”
“Let’s discuss compensation.”
From there, I decided I didn’t want to go around and train my staff how to do everything from A-Z. So instead. I made a training manual so people could study what they had to do. That took a bit of time, but once it was done, it made life so much easier.
Then I trained my two top performers how to train new people, so I wouldn’t have to. I mean, they did learn from me after all, so they could do the same thing I could, right?
They did all that work. It was awesome. I mean, sure, at times I would do a sample pitch, but it wasn’t really necessary.
I saw some gaps in my system, as each employee was only acquiring about 1.5 leads each hour. That was about $45 in earnings with a payroll of $10 an hour plus overhead (office, electric, commissions, etc.). The margins weren’t high enough. We were just wasting time and energy. So I tried out a few things to tweak up conversions.
Through a week of trial and error, I was able to double my leads from 1.5 to 3 leads per agent per hour. That made each employee earning $10-$13 an hour worth $90 (minus overhead). Actually, it raised the margins even more because the new system created verticals and a new income stream as well.
From there, my floor was completely self sufficient. I didn’t have to do anything. So I just tallied up how many leads each agent got and put it up on the white board, so it looked like I was working. Then listened to music and chatted with the sales people or talked to my friends on Facebook or Gchat. Not really doing any work at all and just slacking off.
Here and there, I’d hop on a sales call with a vendor or train a new sales person, but the whole goal of creating all my systems was to spend as much time as I possibly could slacking off. Oh, I made it easier on my sales people as well, since I created all their scripts and made them youtube videos as well. I even recorded a call with the perfect pitch so they could say everything, word for word, to ensure their closing ratios increased.
So while I was doing that, life was great. I looked like I was working like no tomorrow, but in actuality, I was just chatting with friends, listening to music and watching the money come in.
It was awesome.
I personally think I’m the laziest person in the world.
How about you?
Do you slack off just because you don’t want to do work?
Did you create a system at your job to streamline your work process?
Or are you just missing deadlines?
Because if you’re just missing deadlines, you’re not lazy at all.
You’re just unmotivated.
As harsh as it is to say, if I was your employer, I’d try to motivate you for a while. You know, maybe a few days. More than likely just a few hours. Ok, I’ll be real. A short quick meeting. However, if that didn’t work, I’d show you the door. Then I’d post a new ad on Craigslist so I could show my new potential employees my videos I made. Copy and paste + Craigslist. The solution to the problems of entry level employees.
So maybe you need to find some motivation. Or better yet, something you actually enjoy doing. If it was me, I’d do my best to be as lazy as possible, yet get paid for it.
To truly be lazy, you need to beat the system by creating your own. Free yourself from your cubicle of boredom and mediocrity. Go out there and create your own system, so you can be as lazy as you want to be.
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Originally posted on Quora.
Leonard Kim consults startups and writes books like The Etiquette of Social Media: How to Connect and Respond to Others in the World of Social Media