Billy Hollis uses a recent WSJ piece to argue that many lawyers and senior managers “pretend incompetence so that others will be forced to pick up their slack. That way, they can keep on doing what they’re best at, such as schmoozing clients on the golf course.” An interesting discussion ensues in the comments section about balancing workplace efficiency, comparative advantage, and playing well with others.
While I’ve never pretended to be too stupid to operate a fax machine in order to get others to do it for me, I do think the general trend toward doing away with staff support and thereby making highly paid employees waste time doing clerical tasks is counterproductive.
