1) As a child the most important thing is effort, not results. If you try really hard your teacher/parent will reward you, even if the results are crap.

2) If you watch "business people" on TV they're involved in phone calls, meetings, and deal making. No boring or hard stuff that involves solo work for hours on end.

Put together those two ideas and you get people who think their entire job is to make an effort by doing what "business people" do all day.

This is why someone could feel entirely satisfied with themselves, even if they haven't produced a single meaningful result through all their effort.