Mohammad bin Salman explains why he is always in a hurry

With policies and programs set in motion in Saudi Arabia, the question for New York Times’ Thomas L. Friedman was whether Mohammed bin Salman and his team can see this through.

He chose not to make predictions and even says that the Crown Prince’s circle of advisers don’t always challenge him sufficiently.

But the question still remains whether he has a tendency to start too many things, and if yes, why?

According to Friedman, perfect is not on the menu here. Someone had to do this job – wrench Saudi Arabia into the 21st century – and Mohammed bin Salman stepped up, Friedman writes in the article. “I, for one, am rooting for him to succeed in his reform efforts,” he says.

Alas, who Saudi Arabia is also includes a large cohort of older, more rural, more traditional Saudis, and pulling them into the 21st century will be a challenge. But that’s in part why every senior bureaucrat is working crazy hours now, says the report.

They know Mohammed bin Salman can call them on the phone at any of those hours to find out if something he wanted done is getting done. I told him his work habits reminded me of a line in the play “Hamilton,” when the chorus asks: Why does he always work like “he’s running out of time.”

“Because,” said Mohammed bin Salman, “I fear that the day I die I am going to die without accomplishing what I have in my mind. Life is too short and a lot of things can happen, and I am really keen to see it with my own eyes — and that is why I am in a hurry.”