Adam Smith talked of “Division of Labour”, one of the core concepts in his foundational work that laid the basis for what we now know as Economics. Prior to the industrial era, most of us were generalists, we did everything we needed to provide for our family, from growing food to harvesting it, to building our home, weaving cloth, making clothes etc. In simple terms, the idea of division of labour is that if you can specialise in something that pays more than you could earn from doing other tasks, then do more of what you can specialise in and pay someone to do the rest. In short, if you can, “Pay Someone”
In my late teens and early twenties, I did most of the maintenance of my own (old, pretty worn out!) cars. After all, I had the time and I didn’t have the money to pay a professional. However, at the age of twenty-four, I had just qualified as a Chartered Accountant and moved to the Cayman Islands. As I was earning decent money and as it was (very) hot weather to be crawling around under cars, I started to pay auto mechanics to look after my car.
Fast forward many years and right now I am in the process of redecorating my new home. Much of the work I have paid a wonderful decorator to prepare the house for painting and to paint key areas, but that has left quite a bit to do myself. Over recent weeks I’ve painted several of the bedrooms and have actually enjoyed the sense of fulfilment of having done the task, even though I didn’t specifically love doing the painting itself. Now, however, I have two weeks before the carpets are installed, and I have to paint the doorframes for seven doors before then. I do not want to do it, but it has to be done. This then adds another layer to the concept of Division of Labour.
Adam Smith laboured (well, he didn’t actually do any real labour, but that is another story!) under the misapprehension that we humans are all “rational actors”, a conceptual error that has plagued Economics ever since! We are not human “doings”, we are human “beings“, or, as I sometimes put it “Sentio Ergo Sum, not Cogito Ergo Sum” (I feel, therefore I am, not I think therefore I am).
We typically look at capability and capacity when we look at what jobs and tasks to do ourselves, as well as designing roles and responsibilities in our businesses and who to assign to them.
Again, we miss something here. We miss the idea of energy. If someone has the capability and capacity (typically this is time available) to do a task or take on a role, they can do it, but how long will they last if it does not bring them energy?
Back to me and the task of painting. There are plenty of jobs I do at home and with my work life where I could pay someone to do them for less money than I earn doing my own specialised work, but some of these tasks give me energy, or at least are no worse than energy “neutral”. As an example, I love to arrange my travel for work, I’m a total travel geek, so it adds to my energy to do this. Compare this, though, to arranging my diary. I do not enjoy this, so for many years have always preferred to have a VA (Virtual Assistant, a human who does this part-time and remotely, not an AI!). Having someone else manage my diary is a real “energy up!” for me.
Painting door frames though? The very idea drains me of energy, so, as I write this, I’ve asked my decorator if they can find space in their diary to do this for me before the carpet fitters arrive. If so, I will be very happy to “pay a man” for this particular task!