In Scripture this symptom is called slothfulness. Proverbs warns us about this attitude at least two dozen times. I particularly like the verse, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4). This is no way justifies overworking to the detriment of all else, but it does clearly state a biblical principle: Laziness is a sin.

We are all disorganized to some extent. Often the degree of disorganization depends on the project at hand. For example, before my left shoulder blade was removed due to cancer, I was old car buff; I thoroughly enjoyed dismantling and rebuilding antique cars. When I did this work, I would try to be as meticulous as possible, because I know from bitter experience what can happen if even a single bolt works loose. On the other hand, I am quite content to patch my lawnmower with bailing wire to get the job done as quickly as possible.

In business, organization is an absolute necessity, not an alternative. Some people, like accountants, are organizers by personality. They are often attracted to the field of accounting because they enjoy detail and order. Rarely, however, will someone who likes detail work become an entrepreneur, unless the business is directly related to the accounting field. Why? Because most entrepreneurial types are free-wheelers who like to do a variety of things and don’t enjoy routine task. But a smart entrepreneur will eventually learn that even though ideas start businesses, organization makes them successful.

That means an entrepreneur must either develop the necessary discipline or hire someone else to keep the company in order. Otherwise, when the business grows to the point that shooting – from – the – hip decisions no longer suffice, either the owner will have to sell out or the business will fail.

One entrepreneur I’ll call Bob Gray was a businessman whose penchant for disorganization ultimately caused his downfall. He was a research chemist who had developed a unique formula for removing foreign particles from motor oil. His idea was to add his formula to an engine’s oil and collect the unwanted foreign particles in a special electrostatic filter, which would replace the standard oil filter. The oil would stay clean indefinitely, and the filter would require cleaning through reverse flushing about every 10,000 miles, at a cost of less than $10. The invention was easily worth several millions of dollars to any automotive parts wholesaler.

Bob negotiated with a large trucking company to test his invention on their equipment. The company allowed him to modify 10 of their older vehicles for a trial period. During this time Bob paid special attention to the details and personally monitored the exchange of the filters and the application of the additive. The results were spectacular. Not only did the oil stay free of dirt and other pollutants, the average gas mileage increased by more than 5 percent. The transport company ordered the units for every vehicle. Bob’s company was off and running.

Unfortunately, as the company grew to meet this increased demand, quality began to decline. Bob learned a hard lesson about organization when, through the use of some defective additive his company shipped, some semi-trailers with blown engines were stranded all across the country. The company immediately removed the filters and additive from all their vehicles and sued Bob’s company for $800,000 in damages.

Bob had neglected to increase his liability insurance to cover the increased liability and found that he had only $100,000 worth of coverage. He filed for bankruptcy protection but was denied that right because he was unable to prove he would have a viable company left after the lawsuit. His company was liquidated, and the patents were given to the trucking company as partial settlement of the damages.

Bob was only a step away from a lifetime of security when his company crashed. He had a test in the works with a large automobile company to use his product in all their new cars and trucks. They were days away from signing an agreement when word of the trucking company’s disaster became public. The automobile company broke off negotiations and issued a company statement rejecting the concept. This ultimately spelled doom for Bob’s company. A very good idea bit the dust because of Bob’s inattention to detail, i.e., slothfulness.