Djelloul Marbrook

What do you make of people who are always telling you how busy they are? I think they’re hardly worth your time. They’re boors.

I came by this prejudice innocently enough. I worked for a famous admiral when I was in the Navy. I wrote speeches for him. He was always threatening to shoot me if I used three-syllable words and wrote anything he didn’t understand. One of his most endearing traits was to answer his own phone. He refused to explain this (forgive me) admirable habit, but it was clear he liked knowing what was going on and disliked spin.

People who are committed to persuading you how busy they are are spinning. Nobody’s too busy to answer his own phone. Nobody’s too busy to give you the time of day. But I’ll bet most of those CEOs who are paid millions while their corporations circle the drain don’t answer their own phones.

I didn’t really want to leave the Navy after my enlistment, but my first wife wouldn’t hear of staying. My exit interview with the admiral was characteristically brief. “Remember, Marbrook,” he said, “don’t be full of it.” I’ve tried not to be all these years, but it has made me somewhat intolerant.

—DM