An inside joke is one shared by a few people that will instantly draw howls of laughter… but only if you happen to be an insider. One such incident was in my Army days when a bunch of us smart but rebellious officer candidates banded together as a protection against indiscriminate harassment by the TAC officers. One day we were called out for being a group of the “…most mediocre soldiers I have ever seen!†to which we answered with a resounding “Yes Sir!†We somehow unanimously decided to wear his somewhat strange choice of insults as a badge of honor and later decided that we would take being mediocre to the next level. We jokingly became the “Shining Mediocrity†platoon and claimed that there were no other people on post that could come close to matching our brand of being mediocre.
I still smile when I think of those buddies and the friendship and camaraderie we shared. That term has found a special niche in my brain and I use it from time to time to point out that managing people demands more than just average results, otherwise the best you can achieve is shining mediocrity. Isn’t it funny that we claim to hire the “best†and then declare them to be “average†when we pour them into a performance appraisal system that looks like a normal distribution. The result of treating someone as mediocre may mean they will only strive to be a better brand of mediocrity.
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Help Wanted: Dull and Boring People - How many recruiters would ever conduct a search for candidates who bring absolutely no originality to the table? The practice is actually more common than you might think. While every person has worth and there is a niche for just about everyone, most hiring managers would prefer to interview the go-getters and hire them to ignite their teams. On the surface the choice between these two extremes would seem to be obvious, but if some recruiting campaigns are any indication the appeal would appear to be designed to attract chumps rather than champions. – more –
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How to Make a Bad Hire – There is a lot of talk about how to make effective staffing policies and train people to make the best hires. Recruiters and hiring managers want to do the right thing but sometimes the wrong thing just happens and it can be a very expensive proposition when it does. A Careerbuilder.com survey depicted in an infographic by Mindflash.com in January reported that 41% of companies surveyed reported that a bad hire in the last year cost them at least $25,000. – more –
It’s Your Turn to Volunteer – There is a debate raging in many of our nation’s high schools about requiring mandatory service projects for seniors. It seems that kids who are forced to “volunteer†for something outside of their sphere of interest are not likely to ever volunteer to do it again. Regardless of the good intentions of educators who in good faith place hands-on work experience within the reach of our youth, mandatory volunteerism is not likely to create a desire to participate in any activity no matter how good it may be for them or the community. – more –