What Is “Heroic Mediocrity”And How To Avoid It

“Trying to do everything well at all times is a recipe for “heroic mediocrity.”

— Hubert Joly

You cannot do everything all at once. You cannot do everything you want to perfection. I am attributing the quote above to Hubert Joey, former CEO of Best Buy. He transformed Best Buy (again) in the mid-2010s to save the giant consumer electronics retailer from likely doom. He mentions the quote as something someone told him, but I am giving him the credit because he demonstrated the actions behind the words. It is no different from trying to be all things to all people. That almost always ends in disaster for everyone involved. Dig into any strategy book, small business advice, or practical guide for starting a new business, and they align: narrow your focus. Find your niche. To become really good, you have to begin by picking one thing.

Jon Acuff references this as part of his work on perfectionism. Often in the search for perfection, you are caught in a place where you are pushing so hard to work on every detail that progress stops. That purgatory area is mediocrity. Striving for more, trying to do too much at once, and never being able to move forward. Heroic in nature, the will to succeed is there. Resilience is off-the-charts. And, effort is abundance. Yet, even achieving new milestones is elusive. This is the definition of “heroic mediocrity.” It’s cool and deflating all at the same time.

We have likely all found ourselves in that place. We are working so hard, with a strong desire to achieve the outcome we hope for, yet we cannot reach the peak. We find ourselves trying numerous things, pushing harder, faster, longer. Then, we have to give up, or we simply break from all the effort and chalk it up as a failure. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are ways to prevent those moments. The first and easiest way is to avoid striving for perfection. The second is to know that we all need help along the way. We need fresh perspectives, outside input, and time to step back and review where we are at. Below are three other core elements to ensure you don’t find yourself stuck in the middle of an impossible task. These connect to what Hubert Joly’s references in his excellent Harvard Business Review Article, Does Your Company’s Culture Reinforce Its Strategy and Purpose? He mentions purpose, strategy, and culture forming a triangle for successful change management. Along the way, you need to have the right items to dedicate your efforts to, what is below covers that part of the journey.

Prioritize

Summarizing as prioritization feels too simple here, yet it is at the core of not being spread too thin. Poor prioritization, or the lack of it entirely, has to be the number one obstacle for companies or individuals to overcome to avoid mediocrity. You can sense when you’re being pulled in too many directions and immediately know you’re not getting done what you’d like or know you could (or should).

We live in a world where everyone has a set of priorities, and often they get layered on top of each other and funnel their way down to field leaders. (It happens at all levels, but there is a more common theme when you find yourself towards the end of the funnel, where things actually get done.) With that in mind, it reinforces the need to continually be prioritizing what you are spending your time, energy, and resources on. It can happen multiple times each day. Every shift in context (work environment or activity) is an opportunity to choose what’s next. It is hard. It takes a lot of practice and patience. And it is ongoing. This is a continual process and one that, even when you get good at it, takes continual effort to stay ahead. Even the most experienced leaders are challenged by this, and some may not even know to what degree. Don’t let that stop you from trying, establishing priorities and working them constantly will set you apart in a busy world.

Practice

As I mentioned above, you have to continue to try new things and move yourself forward. That is what practice is all about. It is also why perfectionism is the enemy. In seeking to get it “just right” you stop trying smaller iterations that teach you along the way. Testing our new methods, innovative approaches, and even off the wall ideas can be very helpful in your learning process. All of which keeps you growing and staving off the draw to sameness and mediocrity. This is a pivot point to excellence versus getting stuck in a place of average all the time.

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Work your plan. Stick with your priorities. That will lead to embedding new behaviors that allow you to apply them in new or different situations. This is very similar to habit and routine formation. You have to keep pushing forward and checking off the box each day to get really comfortable with what you are working towards. It is the hardest part. Pausing for the day becomes easy when times get tough. I find myself in this situation all the time. And it can be difficult to get that momentum back. Having your priorities visible, or any guiding principles you have for prioritizing, can be very useful here to always test your actions against what you have established as most important. It becomes a symbol of what you’re building along the way.

Medicare is a tough word to hear. The truth is we will be mediocre at some things, and that is OK. And, if you try to do everything at the highest level, you’ll end up being caught in that stage all the time. Narrowing down what you are working on each day allows you to get much better at those things and delivery results at the highest level. There are so many examples of these people or companies that remain focused available in our lives, yet it becomes too easy to look beyond and learn.

How do you narrow your priorities to ensure you stay true to what is most important and avoid falling into the mediocrity trap?

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