In several projects I’ve worked on over the last few years, I’ve noticed people going out of their way not to make the project great, but to make it mediocre.
It’s the strangest thing in the world.
I’ve even seen people undo important, great, accurate work and make it worse, when they could have just left it alone.
What is with this?
The strangest things is this: excellence is actually easier.
At least, it’s easier when the strange commitment to mediocrity is not there.
The main obstacle to excellence is not the effort it requires to be excellent. Rather, it’s the effort required to stand up against the strange folks in this world that seem to be utterly devoted to taking excellent projects and turning them into average.
As Churchill said, “The challenge is not winning the war. The challenge is persuading them to let you win it.”