Just Good Enough, The New Standard For Performance?

When did, “just good enough,” become the standard for performance?

Too many sellers and leaders seem to be going through the motions. They are putting in the hours, many measuring their success by the hours they work, rather than the results produced. Seeing inspirational or even driven performance has become a rarity. Mediocrity seems to be the norm.

It’s not that people aren’t busy, they are overwhelmed and overloaded. It’s not that people aren’t achieving their goals–they are doing what they can. They may be hitting their numbers, they are attending meetings, doing their activities. I see uninspired customer meetings–following the script but not deeply engaging the customer. Or managers conducting 1-on-1’s, but the conversations are seldom deep and probing.

We see people putting in the hours, work is a paycheck. But they get their joy outside of work, in side gigs, or other activities.

But something seems to be missing. The drive to excel, the willingness to break through brick walls, the imagination to look at what might be possible.

Having been surrounded by so many driven people in my career, the absence of this is confusing. What has changed?

The data seems to support my observations. In recent years, we see declining employee engagement. Customer satisfaction scores are in the decline. Tenure has plummeted, people go from job to job looking for something, but not finding it.

I don’t think people seek to be mediocre. They probably never recognize they have settled into mediocrity. It’s something they drift into, learning how the “system” works within their organizations. They settle into what gets rewarded and what is easy. They think they are doing a good job because the standards for performance are so low.

Activity goals become the driver, not the outcomes or results produced by those activities. Following the scripts is what is important, though customers have a different script. Declining win rates have become the norm, and people fit in at 15-20% win rates. Fewer than 40% of people hit their goals, but that has become the norm.

This behavior of “settling,” is not just something that happens with the sellers, but we see this at the highest levels of management. They are not failing, but they are not excelling. They are just managing through, doing enough to keep their jobs. Comfortable, they are no better and no worse than anyone else. Leaders set the tone for what’s acceptable, and when just good enough is the standard, then everyone else follows.

Everyone becomes comfortable, not noticing the slow decline of performance and expectations. There is no crisis, but everyone settles into adequacy. And as we look around, we see our competitors and others in doing the same thing. Overall, we see a pervasiveness of doing just good enough.

As widely accepted as this seems to be, there are some organizations that stand out. They are different, there is a different energy, a higher level of excitement and engagement. I see people, at all levels, pushing. They are driven less by the goals, but more by what is possible. The goals become something they pass on the way to achieving their dreams. They see they are capable of so much more.

When I look at these high performing organizations, it’s driven by leadership. Leaders who have a different vision, a strong sense of purpose. And these leaders create a culture aligned around that purpose. The entire organization is aligned around possibility. Leaders set the example, reinforcing this with systems, processes and standards driving excellence.

And while mediocrity is contagious, caring and driving excellence is just as contagious. Great leaders embed this in the organization.

How do we start?

Some thoughts:

• Reignite curiosity and depth. Leaders should challenge themselves and their teams to think differently, to explore new possibilities, not just reinforcing the status quo. Individuals should be genuinely curious about customers and what they are trying to achieve. They should be curious about their companies and how they can excel in executing strategies/goals. They should be curious about the profession of selling and how they constantly improve.
• Align around a higher purpose, not just hitting the numbers. Focus on what is possible and why it’s important. Set higher standards for each other and the organization.
• Raise the bar on your goals and vision. Look at how the organization and each individual can stand out. Focus less on how you compare to others, looking at what is possible.

Mediocrity and excellence are choices. What is yours?

Afterword:  Here is the AI generated discussion of this post.  It’s becoming all to frequent–the quality of this discussion is actually better than the article.  Enjoy!