Hi There – Brian here
I was once advising a CEO who was working phenomenal hours to keep their organization cohesive and on track. The situation was ongoing, rather than a short-term blip.
It had reached a crisis point, threatening his health and relationships.
We spoke about what he could do to change his own behavior.
And about strategies to engage the board on how reducing either the number of priorities or increasing the resources would enable the team to deliver on the purpose and goals of the organization.
It became clear that the board was reluctant to consider either of those options.
From their perspective, all priorities remained important.
Besides, everything was getting done to a good standard with the existing resources. So why change?
Meanwhile, the CEO and other executives were burning themselves out striving for excellence in an organization that was spread too thinly and trying to be all things to all people.
He opted to exit and took a job in a new organization, and his career has since soared.
Meanwhile, the organization he left limps along to this day. It survived by lowering quality to accommodate many priorities.
They chose busyness and mediocrity.
When I reflect on what happened, there are several insights. The main ones are that trying to appease all your stakeholders is both silly and says a lot about you and the leadership.
We know that taking on too many priorities is an ‘own goal’, yet it keeps happening, spilling down from the top.
It’s like gravity that keeps pulling leaders towards the average.
Businesses persist with too many products and services rather than the few that generate most profit and value.
Business associations pursue every issue raised by members, rather than the few priorities that are critically important to the future of their industry.
Government programs try to accommodate every idea and minority group in a desperate bid to avoid any risk of public criticism.
The result is a regression to the mean.
It is observable again and again across the public, private and not for profit sectors.
Regression to the mean stems from complacency, fear of change, or misplaced or too many priorities.
It’s easy to be critical, but it is difficult to say no and stay focused. I find that it is hardest to say no to things I would like to do.
Leaders, businesses, industry associations or government programs that go with the flow and try to please everyone risk falling into irrelevance, mediocrity, or failure.
The solution to stay ahead is no surprise to any of us: relentless innovation, a focus on differentiation, and a commitment to excellence across all facets of operations.
It means discipline and saying no more often. It is a gravity-defying behavior.
Try it more often!
Until next week
Insights from others…
“Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean.” - Charlie Munger
“The mightiest rivers lose their force when split up into several streams.” - Ovid
“In our desire to please everyone, it's very easy to end up being invisible or mediocre.” - Seth Godin
“Perhaps it's true that I'm very hard on myself, but that's better than exhibiting mediocre work... too few were satisfactory enough to trouble the public with.” - Claude Monet
“To the mediocre, mediocrity is a form of happiness.” - Friedrich Nietzsche