![\"Mediocrity\"](\"http:\/\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/116\/262359028_24c1126d27_m.jpg\" "\\"Mediocrity\\"")
<\/a>When all is said and done, and history is evaluated, one has to realize that mediocrity is not only the norm, but a necessity. Without mediocrity, nothing gets done. It takes great brains to design a skyscraper that can withstand an atomic blast, but it takes a lot of mediocre people to put that skyscraper together. It takes a lot of education to design a vehicle that will get 50 miles to the gallon, but it takes a lot of mediocre people to put those cars together. <\/p>\n
Some might want to argue the point about mediocrity, but when you think of things in a certain way you come to some truths that just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be debated. For instance, no matter how many people become doctors each year, someone had to be the lowest ranked person in class. The same goes for lawyers; how many of them barely passed the bar? <\/p>\n
Many years ago, I took a civil service exam for a position that I already had, and I got to keep that same position because I was the only one who passed the test, barely. The test had nothing to do with the work I was doing, so I was lucky. No matter how outstanding I might have felt about the work I did, I had to say that I was mediocre on the test, but it was good enough to maintain the position I was already in.<\/p>\n
Why the dissertation on mediocrity? When we look at why there are problems with leadership and management in business today, why there are so many bad decisions, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t begin that discussion without taking a look at the people who are making those decisions. I have seen estimates that say that in an average organization of 200 employees or more, the percentage of employees who are considered as outstanding, not separating upper management (they never evaluate themselves in public) is less than 3%. This means that for a company with 200 workers we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re saying less than six. If you then look at one figure which states that, nationally, the ratio of employees to managers is 8:1, and you apply it only in numbers to that 200 figure, it say that the opportunity for outstanding personnel to be in management is less than 30% (6 of 22), and if you say that at least one of those outstanding employees is a regular employee, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re now down under 25%. I would venture to say that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re lucky if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got half and half in each, which would bring my figure down even further, to around a 14% chance (3 of 22). <\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not good, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not overly condemning either, because outstanding is a difficult concept to get around. Just what does outstanding mean? Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use the Mensa figure, which means that outstanding means you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the top 2% across the board. Who wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be in the top 2% of anything? How many folks can say they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the top 2%, or have been in the top 2%, of something in their lives? Obviously very few; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad to say that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made the top 2% a few times in my life, including when I wrote my one book, where estimates are that less than 2% of people have completed a book they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve started.<\/p>\n
So, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not in the outstanding category, are you mediocre? Possibly. Is it such a bad thing? Well, it depends on what you want to do with your life, or how you want to work with others. Mediocre doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win championships. Mediocre doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t earn as much money. Mediocre does sometimes achieve positions of leadership, but only because the numbers dictate they must. Every once in awhile, mediocre makes it even further, staying under the microscope, and will attain the top positions; they never seem to last long, though. <\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s come back to this word \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmediocre.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Being mediocre doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to learn anything. Being mediocre doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have dreams and goals. Being mediocre doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not capable of doing good things, even great things at times. Being mediocre isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always a bad thing.<\/p>\n
But if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be a true leader, mediocre just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cut it. People don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to follow mediocre; people want to follow someone they feel is strong, outstanding, dynamic, treats them fairly, and gives them opportunities to grow. No one aspires to be mediocre, and when they work for someone mediocre, people tend to believe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re better than that leader, whether they are or not. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working for someone you feel you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re better than, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll either try to work harder so that you can pass them, or not work as hard because you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get noticed or respected, especially by someone they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t respect as much because, well, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re mediocre.<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go back to the term of outstanding then. Are you in that special 2%? Have you tried to determine just what part of 2% you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in, if you feel you need to get there? Let me say this; though I mentioned Mensa, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be with the most intelligent people in the world to be outstanding. Many Mensa members lead very unproductive lives<\/a>. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to know it all. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be all to everyone. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be perfect; even the valedictorian of your class probably got a B somewhere along the line. <\/p>\n