Most of us are average — that’s the precise definition of “average”. Your organization is probably filled with average people, which is okay. The thing is, in most people’s dictionaries, outstanding is merely a “better average”. We were taught that in school: an outstanding student is the one who follows instructions better than others. At work, we were also told to “follow all the rules”, because if we don’t, we might end up losing our jobs.
The truth is, when we don’t have the status quo to fall back on, and we can’t use the phrase “that’s the rule” to defend our actions, we are taking a risk of getting criticized. The more we stand out, the bigger criticism. That is the reason why most people are reluctant to take risks. They feel safer, calmer, and happier when they know what to expect.
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with living life this way.
Problem only occurs when average organizations with average people that make average products expect extraordinary outcomes – that, simply doesn’t happen.
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