Dear Bob ... I've never responded to a column before but I can't let this one [You get what you pay for, KJR 5/9/2005] go. Sometimes what you describe occurs: those who manage projects effectively are not noticed because they have no fires to put out. I've observed, however, that more often it is because those folks do not aggressively seek to fill their time. How many good folks do you Dear Bob …I’ve never responded to a column before but I can’t let this one [You get what you pay for, KJR 5/9/2005] go. Sometimes what you describe occurs: those who manage projects effectively are not noticed because they have no fires to put out. I’ve observed, however, that more often it is because those folks do not aggressively seek to fill their time. How many good folks do you see putting out fires? Now, ask yourself – why? Could it be that they have high energy personalities, and want to be where the action is? Could it be that firefighting or not, their total productive work is greater – perhaps much greater – than their “in control” counterparts? Or perhaps they believe strongly in their technical abilities so that they lend a hand where it is needed, until it is “their” problem to fix? After all, where DO you find firefighters? Not out napping while the world burns! There’s an old story about the manager who works 12 hours a day and doesn’t get ahead. His buddy works from 10-2 with a full lunch hour. The story goes that the friend works less because he’s so much more in control. My version is that he’s lazy, unmotivated, and unwilling to stretch himself to see where else he might be used or useful. And my own experience is that these folks spend whatever hours they are at work politicking, often complaining about firefighters. If you can’t stand or don’t like my pace don’t complain – get out of the way and get yourself some energy!As always, the truth and the optimum is somewhere in between. Running around trying to save the world is not always helpful. But neither is being low key, “I’m so in control and you’re not (but I don’t really accomplish anything either).”– High Energy Dear Energy …As you say, it’s somewhere in between. I’ve known a lot of high-energy personalities over the years. Too many of them spend far too much time taking care of unimportant tasks, because they have no motivation to automate or simplify them.Let me give you a simple example – a client of mine who did an excellent job of planning communications in his department. As part of planning, he wanted several different views of his communication activities, so he developed three formats in MS Word. Everyone involved in the communications process was expected to update all three documents with the same information. After all, all it took was time and energy. I developed an Access database for him that made it possible to enter the information once and report it in a variety of views. I couldn’t, however, duplicate his formats exactly, so he wouldn’t accept the system. He preferred the high-energy, (and, by the way, highly error-prone) approach.Energy is a valuable asset. It isn’t, however, a substitute for thinking things through. It’s often used as a substitute for developing resilient, efficient processes for taking care of frequently occurring tasks, but it isn’t really as good. An as far as resting while the world burns, I’d say the firefighter who prevents a fire by participating in community outreach events has done as much good as the ten firefighters who put out a fire that could have been prevented, whether or not he expended as much energy in doing so.You contrasted the 10-to-2 manager with the 12-hour-a-day one, concluding that the former is lazy and the latter energetic. So here’s my question: How do you know? It’s a story, after all; their real-world counterparts could be as you describe. Or, Ms. 10-to-2 could spend 8 to 10 planning and 2 to 5 becoming smarter, while Mr. 12-hour-shift spends most of his day running around ineffectually, expending huge amounts of energy while achieving nothing of any significance. I have to be fair. I also have known low-energy, low-output managers who manage the politics well enough to have great careers without having great results to show for it all. Many have successfully promoted their being in control as part of how they marketed themselves. That’s why the optimum is somewhere in between.Still, I’m left with this image, for whatever it’s worth: I’m walking from my house to some tennis courts a mile away. My opponent, filled with energy, tells me he can run rings around me. And so he does, running around me in circles as I walk until we both arrive at the tennis courts at the same time.– Bob ——– Technology Industry