I once heard a joke that perhaps only a statistician could love.  One man was standing with a leg in a bucket of boiling water and the other leg in a bucket of ice water.  On average, he was comfortable.

Averages are funny things.  By definition, they are not an accurate observation of anything (unless the deviation is very small, but when does that happen).  Because we have come to associate “average” with normal or middle-of-the-road, we often forget some basic logic.

1.  Half of us are ABOVE average

In any measurement (annual employe performance reviews, athletic ability, or other measurable skills), half of us perform above average.  Half.  It really isn’t that unique or special.  Nothing to really brag about.  The 50th percentile is the middle of the road.

2. Half of us are BELOW average

I know this is shocking.  Seriously, it is good to remember that below average performance isn’t uncommon either. 

3.  Good people do bad work all the time…the goal is to raise the average

One might conclude, as did Grady Booch (thanks to the quote by 37Signals), that ”the average work of the average worker is average.”  Those 37Signals guys say that low expectations, bad bosses, horrible strategies, and bad office design lead to averageness.  That is all true, of course.  Still, the productivity and results that are possible with a group of people raising the “average” bar is substantial.  Even, then your great performers will do mediocre work a lot of the time (statistically).

As a start-up, we often like to look to benchmark companies.  How long, on average, does it take to get to that milestone or this milestone?  How much investment is required to achieve this goal?  It is easy to get caught up in this.  However, I have found that things that are impossible to compare, are impossible to compare.  You never can compare apples-to-apples, because you can’t see inside other people’s fruit carts as clearly as you can your own.  So, beyond the general trends, better to focus on raising your own averages, setting high expectations, and constantly improving the way in which work is done…as a way to improve the work itself over time.