Mediocrity

Somebody in a western multinational organisation came up with the idea that to motivate exceptional performance, we need to make everyone feel mediocre - average - "meets expectations". This was hailed by all in developing countries as a marvellous thing. We could now make people feel that they were more ordinary than they ever thought they would be and work harder at not being so ordinary after all.

The eternal question of how do we make more profits by not paying the serfs is being answered slightly differently in today's day of feel-good "people management". So my firm tells managers everywhere we go that an interesting finding of our most recent surveys has told us that companies are making a "greater differentiation" towards outstanding performers. Right. Joy. Err yeah, what does that mean? That means that more and more employees are being told they are mediocre. Fewer employees are being told they are sexy. Right.

Let us examine this - you were born one day and your parents eyes were filled with joy and hope. At the tender age of four, you decide to be a fire-fighter or a ballet dancer or an auto-wallah (glamour is made of such different things at that age) and change it slightly by the time you hit the ripe old age of 8. Its about time you started dreaming of fame and riches and all. Yeah and all that lasts right till the time you start working at about 20 or so. Thats when the cookie crumbles. Hope is still there, maybe you can study some more and be that guy who owns that cool car (though you have no clue what he does during the day, he sure does look sexy in that car.. sort of). And then you do study some more, loans and bills pile up. Companies keep telling you that ordinary is exactly what you are no matter how hard you try. Your friends seem to be doing fairly ordinary things though they make it seem extraordinary making you wonder if its just you unable to rise above your most ordinary ciscumstances. That sexy car seems to be nowhere in the vicinity of your affordability unless mommy and daddy help you with it. The one thing you thought you wouldnt be doing - taking help (because that would be the only thing that made you extraordinary in your very very very ordinary circumstances) is exactly what you end up doing.

Thats where it stands. Close to 25, and feeling more ordinary than ever before.. one of my most depressing posts in a while now. I shall end now before some people I know (you know who you are) start complaining about the length of my posts.