I dn't know that think that laziness isn't something to brag about in a straightforward way, and I completely agree with you about how it is not improving. But laziness coupled with intellectuality has actually always been a great trait in all employees, though one that can make employers uneasy until they end up.
For example, consider the legend of John Henry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(folklore)) He felt he could work harder than the machine and is considered a hero (though to be realistic, a failure!). There is clearly no folk song about the person who created a machine that could drive steel rails, but that person did a lot more for transportation (even though he was no doubt a nerd!) than 100 John Henry's could. Of course if that nerd was supposed to be driving steel but was instead working on a machine to do it, he would have been branded as a lazy person and probably fired. And that opinion wouldn't have changed much even once he was a multi-millionaire and owned the company he was fired from 🙂
And your quote fits perfect to that story.