Bill Gates once said he'd pick a lazy person for a hard job: 5 lessons every manager should learn

“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” Bill Gates’ famous line has been quoted, misquoted, and meme-ified countless times. But if you pause and read it carefully, he was not glorifying idleness. He was pointing to a profound management insight: people who avoid unnecessary effort are often the ones who redesign processes, automate the mundane, and invent shortcuts that save everyone’s time. In other words, what we dismiss as “laziness” can sometimes be a code word for efficiency, creativity, and problem-solving. For managers navigating a workplace reshaped by AI, hybrid teams, and relentless deadlines, Gates’ observation offers more relevance than ever.

So, what can managers really learn from this unconventional advice? Here are five lessons that cut through the noise.
Redefine laziness as efficiencyThe “lazy person” Gates referred to is not the disengaged employee scrolling Instagram during work hours. It’s the professional who refuses to do ten steps when three will do. Managers need to recognise that efficiency often hides behind a reluctance to do repetitive, low-value work. Employees who seem “lazy” may in fact be optimisers—constantly seeking ways to streamline processes. Instead of penalising them, leaders should channel this mindset into process improvement projects.

Embrace shortcuts, but demand smart onesEvery organisation fears corner-cutting. But not all shortcuts are equal. Bad shortcuts compromise quality; good ones eliminate redundancy. Gates’ “lazy person” would not skip the hard job—they would complete it by designing a better path. For managers, the trick lies in creating a culture where questioning existing workflows is encouraged. For example, why spend hours on a manual report if an automated dashboard can be built once and updated forever?

Identify roles where laziness pays offNot every job benefits from “lazy” efficiency. In medicine, law, or safety-critical sectors, taking shortcuts can be catastrophic. But in technology, product development, and creative industries, the instinct to simplify is gold. Managers should identify roles where the drive to avoid drudgery translates into innovation. That’s why some of the best coders are notorious for writing automation scripts—they’d rather “waste” an afternoon writing code than spend weeks doing manual fixes.

Balance effort with outcomesToo often, managers equate visible effort with commitment: the employee staying late is rewarded, even if their output is mediocre. Gates’ insight flips this bias. What matters is not the hours clocked in but the results achieved. A so-called lazy team member who meets targets with minimal effort is not a liability—they’re a productivity case study. Managers should shift their performance metrics from input (time and effort) to output (impact and innovation).

Create space for problem-solversIf managers only reward hustle, they risk discouraging employees who think differently. To unlock the benefits of Gates’ philosophy, leaders must build environments where problem-solvers thrive. That means giving them autonomy to experiment, access to tools that support automation, and recognition when their efficiency saves the team time. A lazy person left stifled will look unmotivated; a lazy person empowered will redesign the system.

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