Comment by harry8

The idea is that the intelligent lazy person will find a simpler and better way to do things, while the hard working one just powers through doing it the usual way.

Here is my insight, as it applies to managers in companies:

There is a certain type of manager who is "hardworking", which in this case probably means something more along the lines of overzealous. The overzealous manager enters the organization and starts puting processes into place that assume a bunch of "hardworking" subordinates rather than average subordinates, which most of them are (by definition). When the subordinates don't meet expectations and the process fails, the manager blames subordinates for not working hard enough, so he drives them harder, which then causes issues with morale, retention, etc. damaging the organization.

So, the "hardowrking"/overzealous manager believes problems can be solved by working harder, rather than trying to craft a process that realistically works for the average employee. The "lazy" but intelligent manager finds a way to get just enough done to satisfy business goals. The hardworking manager gets a lot done in the short term, but burns out the team in the long term. The lazy manager keeps their division humming at an unexceptional but reliable pace and keeps the business printing money.

A giant bureaucracy like the military is more concerned about reliable, predictable, fool-proof plans and execution than brilliant and gallant leadership that could backfire in the wrong circumstances. So the quote is kind of about the priorities of a large organization.

I always thought being intelligent and lazy was superior. Why waste my time doing something if I don’t have to? You can ‘clever’ your way out of a lot of hard work and get the same results.

It's important that he's talking about military officers, not random people chilling at home. There's a minimum level of results necessary if you want to avoid eventual assignment to latrine cleaning duty, and laziness drives efficiency in achieving those results.

By lazy, he meant simple. Imagine you are in charge of conscript soldiers who have been given the bare minimum of training. Your plans and orders should consist of step1, step2, and step3 and no more.