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> as a friend of mine observed when asked to speak at a conference on "pursuing excellence in facilities management": "Who the hell would pursue second-rateness

> as a friend of mine observed when asked to speak at a conference on "pursuing excellence in facilities management": "Who the hell would pursue second-rateness?" Most people, actually – though few are so bold as to announce it. That said, I agree with the point: although individuals may not pursue greatness, public institutions always should.

mananaysiempre 4y ago
“So how do you hire more B players?”[1] [1] https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=How_to_Hire_Insanely_Great_Employees.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor...
- fsckboy 4y ago
  > "A players hire A players," he said. "B players hire C players. Do you get it?" > Apparently not. Somebody in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, "so how do you hire more B players?" I think that guy did get it, but he worded it wrong, he meant to say, "so, who hired those B players?"
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    Right. He's spotted that the "rule" may have a little truth to it, but is also kinda just bullshit.
  - Nasrudith 4y ago
    Better B players who are insecure enough to specifically hire worse than themselves, but still B-players. If going by lower as better it would technically be B subscript N players hire B subscript N+1 players. But that is unwieldy and worryingly niche of a reference for a society which relies so much upon mathematics.
jasmer 4y ago
Public institutions need to pursue competence. If they could effectively do the things they are supposed to, we'd be mostly pretty good.
Spivak 4y ago
Excellence is overrated for anything you don’t really really care about. The price to get to the next level of noticeable quality goes up really fast after a bit above average.
seti0Cha 4y ago
The alternative to pursuing excellence is not usually pursuing second-rateness, but simply not pursuing excellence. It's a lack of effort, rather than misdirected effort.
rqtwteye 4y ago
My rule is that whenever something has “excellence” in the title it’s 100% BS. Works like a charm.
- LAC-Tech 4y ago
  Reminds me of that old Simpsons episode, where Homer is given a fake award for "Outstanding Achievements in the field of Excellence"

mananaysiempre 4y ago

“So how do you hire more B players?”[1] [1] https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=How_to_Hire_Insanely_Great_Employees.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor...

fsckboy 4y ago
> "A players hire A players," he said. "B players hire C players. Do you get it?" > Apparently not. Somebody in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, "so how do you hire more B players?" I think that guy did get it, but he worded it wrong, he meant to say, "so, who hired those B players?"
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Right. He's spotted that the "rule" may have a little truth to it, but is also kinda just bullshit.
- Nasrudith 4y ago
  Better B players who are insecure enough to specifically hire worse than themselves, but still B-players. If going by lower as better it would technically be B subscript N players hire B subscript N+1 players. But that is unwieldy and worryingly niche of a reference for a society which relies so much upon mathematics.

jasmer 4y ago

Public institutions need to pursue competence. If they could effectively do the things they are supposed to, we'd be mostly pretty good.

Spivak 4y ago

Excellence is overrated for anything you don’t really really care about. The price to get to the next level of noticeable quality goes up really fast after a bit above average.

seti0Cha 4y ago

The alternative to pursuing excellence is not usually pursuing second-rateness, but simply not pursuing excellence. It's a lack of effort, rather than misdirected effort.

rqtwteye 4y ago

My rule is that whenever something has “excellence” in the title it’s 100% BS. Works like a charm.

LAC-Tech 4y ago
Reminds me of that old Simpsons episode, where Homer is given a fake award for "Outstanding Achievements in the field of Excellence"