An Unchecked Problem with Efficiency

Mediocrity is running rampant.

We experience it in each and every corner of our lives. Why for instance, when anyone picks up four medications from the pharmacy at one time, are those medications not packaged in bottles of different sizes, shapes and colors? Instead they are all filled in the same exact bottle. By design, we are creating confusion and we are increasing the odds that people will mix up their medications.

There are some strong examples of excellence - the US interstate system comes to mind for one. That thing is fascinating and breathtaking. I have a renewed feeling of awe each time I get onto I-40. One road that can take a traveler from Wilmington, NC to Barstow, CA (2,559 miles). If we can lay down that kind of literal path, we should be able to figure out so much more, especially with the modern tools we have.

But we limit creating environments where people can disagree without consequences. We have systems filled with bias. We build new broken workflows on top of old broken workflows, and we pat ourselves on the back when we haven't done much.

All of this is rooted in efficiency, which our culture prizes over everything else. The problem here is that the most efficient thing is effectively the most average thing.

And so we find mediocrity at every turn.

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As a family business, we have been straddling generational and ideological divides. Our challenge now is to better understand the broader impact of our choices, and rethink how we do our work. This will be a lifelong journey in examining our past choices and undoing what has been problematically at odds with the way we want to coexist with the world around us.