Bulldozer00's Blog

As the name implies, a mediocracy is an average form of man-made organization. By definition, the vast majority of private companies are mediocracies, regardless of what top management espouses. Mediocracies are characterized by:

• Uniformity, homogeneity
• Stability (at least in the short term)
• Apathy, no ownership
• Hubris, arrogance, entitlement
• The same raises for everyone, regardless of performance
• Lots of managers and few, if any, leaders
• Stunted, bounded,  personal and professional growth
• Fixed, rule-based behavior
• Reliance on improvement of obsolete processes instead of new process creation
• Promotions based on conforming behavior over performance
• Social punishment of innovators and deviants
• Slow, throttled, response times
• Lack of negative feedback loops that accelerate learning
• Reliance on firefighters, hero-worship
• A caste system where the upper echelons are disconnected and distanced from the lower constituencies

Got anymore traits to add to the list? Which would you rather work for, a staid and closed mediocracy or a vibrant and open meritocracy?