On Wally and an Organization's "Busy Quotient (BQ)"

This post really started from a Facebook interaction with my friends about a Wally (from Dilbert Comics) joke that I think really holds true in Organizations today.

wally: i didn't do any work this week because my project will probably be cancelled in the next budget cuts.
pointy-haired-boss: wally, i don't pay you to do nothing.
wally: i'm pretty sure you do. but i understand your confusion. i too was surprised by the first few years of getting paid for doing nothing. in time, ...doing nothing became it's own sort of challenge. i'm like a ninja with no hopes and dreams.

While I found the joke to be hilarious and identified with it completely (based on my work experience so far), I had some friends commenting that it really doesn't hold true anymore. This set me thinking...Why is that work seems slow (and non-voluminous) at some work places and why it seems busy (and voluminous) at some work places... To that effect, I have tried defining a Organization's Busy Quotient (BQ) with some variables...

Busy Quotient (BQ) Variables:
1. Size of the Company (S) = Bigger the size of the company, the lesser dependencies it wants on individuals, the workload & worklist gets divided into smaller & smaller units (as size grows) such that the show will go on even if one individual goes missing in the chain. In smaller companies, it is often the reverse scenario where an individual often holds more than 2-3 distinct responsibilities and is therefore always on the run, giving the impression that he is more busy than the rest of the market. I am counting 'structure of a company' as a subset of this variable as well.  

2. Lifestage of the Company (L) = The longer the company is in business, the calmer it's daily life becomes. Start-ups usually start out busy because there is a lot to be done even in the Administration Department. I won't even mention the amount of work that goes into core functions like Operations, Marketing and Finance. So, there is going to be a difference in "busy-ness" between an individual who is joining a company on Day 1 and someone who is joining them after 3 years.

In fact I am even reminded of some Mgmt. Guru Insight (I think it was Marshall Goldsmith) that if an individual is always overworked and is doing longer hours everyday, it is a problem either with the organization structure or with the individual - that, it is not in synchronization with the stage of the Company.

3. Process in the Company (P) = The higher the process orientation of the company, the smoother the work flows throughout the chain. It is a simple truth that some organizations are methodical in their approach - about anything - and some are not. Lack of process orientation brings up many surprises, on a daily basis, where you end up doing more fire-fighting than value-added work. But, it still gives you the notion that you are doing a lot.

4. Culture in the Company (C) = There is a culture of "sitting late to look good" in some organizations and there is a culture of "only delivery matters" in some organizations. I am sure that companies which foster the 2nd chain of thought will easily be less busier than the other one. We all have heard about these reputations and we all have commented how the 2nd way is the way to live. Some organizations actually go ahead and do it (read: Best Buy's Results-Only-Work-Environment Story someday). Some organizations don't. They are not really interested in featuring in a "Best Places to Work" Magazine feature.

To summarize = BQ = S x L x P x C
I will spare us all into going for an exercise of assigning a computation methodology and coming up numbers. Then commenting on what's good and what's bad. I can tell you the summary without it as well, having worked with multiple organizations having multiple values for each of the variables above. And at different points in time.

The simple point is:
The more "Efficient Organization" will adjust the "interplay between these 4 variables very well" and come out less busy on an Average Day. And the Chaotic ones won't.
The operative word, at any given point in time, is "interplay". An organization is a dynamic organism and these 4 variables keep changing on a daily basis. A rapidly changing BQ only indicates inefficiency and inability to manage complexity. The trick is keep balancing them out 'consciously' day-in and out - to maintain a steady Busy Quotient over time. The focus to balance these out must have as much importance as one might have on the actual deliverables of the job. Why not!?

With whom does this ownership lie with? Every Individual. CEO as well as the Trainee.