Strive to Be Average

I was reading an article a while ago about how companies strive to always be at the cutting edge, to create high performance products with high performance teams.

Then I realized something: it’s okay to be average. One of the most glaring examples of why average is okay is by looking at your everyday devices. Last year my smartphone, a trusty Galaxy S2, conked out. It was the top of the line Android phone when I bought it. When it died, its performance was the same as any average Android phone released in the past 6 months. My replacement phone is now average but does a lot more than my S2 did, at an even unbelievably cheaper price.

Most startups have thrown away the notion of making the best product possible, at least in the earlier stages. But the majority still think that you still need to have an exceptional team if you want to win at the startup game. The sad part is, your exceptional team today will most definitely be outclassed even in as short a span as a year. New technology, younger and hungrier grads, and better opportunities are all in favor of that future competitor team.

But the majority still think that you still need to have an exceptional team if you want to win at the startup game.

I think the notion of average is the problem. Today, it’s equated with mediocrity especially in a sea of products and companies. But average merely is the baseline, and a moving one at that. All you need is to build a team that’s a bit better than average that continually strives to be average. The baseline is constantly moving and always working to be ahead, even if just a bit, improves your chances.

Whereas an exceptional team will almost never strive to be better once they hit the jackpot. There are diminishing returns to creating a product better than your last one. It’s just too darn tiring. There’s also a certain braggadocio that makes you as complacent as a hare racing a tortoise. The reality distortion field of constant praise and accolades doesn’t help either.

tl;dr: Don’t build the best team. Build a team slightly above average that always knows what average means so that you constantly want to be one step ahead of it.