It's the beginning of a new year and you're keen to work incredibly hard to impress your superiors.
You show up early, work diligently and plough through lots of paperwork until late at night. Good idea?
No. You have not been reading your Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke, the Prussian army's chief of staff for 30 years in the mid-19th century. He transformed his command by insisting that the most important quality in his officers was that essential but often overlooked trait: idleness.
He split them into four groups depending on their mental and physical characteristics - Type A: mentally dull and physically lazy; Type B: mentally bright and physically energetic; Type C: mentally dull and physically energetic; and Type D: mentally bright and physically lazy.
Which of these do you think would be most useful? I looked around the newsroom at my fellow workers. How should I categorise them? I wanted to ask the opinion of the business editor but was told that he had popped in early, assigned a number of tasks, and had gone for an urgent meeting on a nearby golf course. Clearly a Type D.
Whoever hired him was either very bright or Gen von Moltke, for this was just the type of fellow who he thought should be running the Prussian army. Type A were clearly not up to snuff. They were given simple, repetitive tasks. It was said if you gave them simple, repetitive tasks they might come up with a good idea one day but you shouldn't bank on it. On a newspaper, they would probably have been given something menial on the arts desk.
Type B, mentally bright and physically energetic, were deemed to be too obsessed with micro-management. They would make good human resources people perhaps, or fast-food delivery men. They would know the shortest way to get from A to B so that your vindaloo arrived piping hot.
Type C officers, mentally dull but physically energetic, were considered the most dangerous. Hard to know where they would work on a paper: perhaps as senior editors. Gen von Moltke considered them best at making sure orders were carried out and taking painstaking care about details.
Which brings us to Type D. The general thought they made the ideal officer material. Smart and lazy means that you find the easiest way to do something. As Walter Chrysler, the builder of the eponymous motor cars and the most gorgeous tower in New York once remarked: "Whenever there is a hard job to be done I assign it to a lazy man; he is sure to find an easy way of doing it."
Von Moltke has been revived and studied by management consultants, who are now touring the world flogging his absurd theories. Doubtless there are companies following this counsel ruthlessly; it's probably happening in this office, if it hasn't already. It may be trendy, but it's absurd.
Do these fellows never read history? The Prussian army under Von Moltke's aegis may have flogged the French mercilessly in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, but this does not make them an efficient fighting force. No wonder the First World War got bogged down in four years of trench warfare. All the Type Ds were driving on the Type Bs and Cs, while getting the Type As to bring them sauerkraut and chilled mugs of beer in their safe billets.
The Type Ds probably thought they could keep this wheeze going indefinitely, and they probably could have done if it weren't for the US brains and might that came bursting in with tanks, troops and parachutes and brought Detroit-built muscle to bear.
In my book, there's an altogether better model for office life. Step forward Sir Harry Paget Flashman, VC, KCB, KCIE.
He bestrode the 19th century like a colossus, playing a hand in many of the major military engagements of the period, in India, the Crimea, helped answer the Schleswig-Holstein Question, rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade and even fought alongside Gen Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
After an altogether unsatisfactory scholastic career at Rugby School, then one of the England's leading public schools, he joined the British army.
He had few accomplishments: brilliant at languages; rode beautifully; and was rather partial to the fairer sex.
But unlike the brave Von Moltke, Flashman was a fearful coward. Instead of action, he preferred inaction. He would flee from the thought of danger, sometimes dissolving in a blue funk. Fortunately, he was tall, well-built and handsome. To cap it all, whenever he was frightened, his face turned red rather than white, so everybody thought he was excited, keen as a hero.
When faced with a management decision, people should not emulate Von Moltke but Harry Flashman. Flashy was always keen to avoid any activity, although he was always swift to take the credit.
It's easy to imagine Von Moltke striding through the Goldman Sachs trading floor, ordering his Type Ds to buy more sub-prime debt and them passing that order down the line. Flashman would never have meddled with credit default swaps. He would have been too busy elsewhere, resplendent in his cherry pickers.
rwright@thenational.ae
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Rating: 3/5
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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SCHEDULE FOR SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi
Martin Klizan v Novak Djokovic (2)
Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)
Court One - from 4pm
Milos Raonic (6) v Jan-Lennard Struff
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Evgeniya Rodina
Dominic Thiem (8) v Vasek Pospisil
Court Two - from 2.30pm
Juan Martin Del Potro (29) v Thanasi Kokkinakis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Jelena Jankovic
Jeremy Chardy v Tomas Berdych (11)
Ons Jabeur v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
SPECS
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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The biog
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Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
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Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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