I heard the Chinese version of the following story
a long time ago and it took root. Every revisit
brought a good laugh and refreshed admiration for
the military genius or, in case it was apocryphal,
whoever that invented it.

> Napoleon was supposed to have once explained to
> an inquirer, "There are four types of soldiers.
> The first are the dumb and lazy. These I make my
> infantrymen. The second are the smart and
> energetic. These I make my field commanders. The
> third type are the smart and lazy. These I make
> my generals."
> 
> The inquirer, then replied, "That's just three
> types. What of the dumb and energetic?"
> 
> Napoleon, without skipping a beat, replied, "I
> have them shot."

It seemed I had since forgotten the dialog, until
recently when talking with a friend about my
employment history. I realized I have met three
types in the leaders.

My boss at my first real job in Beijing and my
Canadian PhD advisor were smart and lazy. They are
now both very successful in their worldly affairs.
Another professor and three or four of my bosses,
including the current one, were smart and
energetic. The professor has long retired and the
rest are mid-level managers. I have enjoyed
working with both types. I haven't had a dumb and
lazy boss. Unfortunately, three other bosses were
not very smart but still working energetically in the
industry.

As a programmer, I myself have often felt dumb and 
frustrated. Had I always been healthy as I am 
these days, I could have written better code and
fixed more bugs that made me proud or simply had
more fun doing these things. It was great luck 
that I have been allowed to code this long.