How Busy Became a Badge

How did "busy" become the ultimate badge of honor in business? In this solo episode, Bill Gallagher traces the cultural and historical roots of our obsession with busyness — from the Protestant work ethic to Silicon Valley hustle culture. He makes the case that constant busyness isn't just unproductive, it's actively destroying your ability to lead, think strategically, and scale your company. If you've ever worn your packed calendar as a point of pride, this episode will challenge everything you believe about hard work. Mentioned in this episode: Busy is Broken book Our new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com Q20 Diagnostic Offer Stuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

You can listen to How Busy Became a Badge online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How Busy Became a Badge is an episode from Scaling Up Business Podcast by Bill Gallagher.

This episode is 12:04 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.

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