Shared by a friend, and I had to laugh (check the date):

“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.”

Gaius Petronius Arbiter, 210 BC

Unfortunately, it was not from 210. The quote is from Charlton Ogburn Jr (1911-1998), in Harper’s Magazine, “Merrill’s Marauders: The truth about an incredible adventure”

Still, an interesting quote. And of course, a great reinforcement … busy work is just busy work .. it doesn’t mean that anything is being accomplished.