“One night in an ancient kingdom, a wicked witch poisons the town’s well. The king comes to know of it and refrains from drinking from the poisoned well. All the citizens however, drink and become insane. The next day the insane citizens gather at the town square accusing the king of having gone mad and clamor for a new king. Left with the option of keeping his mind and losing his monarchy, that night, the king slips in and drinks from the well. The next day the citizens cheer the insane king as excellent.”

1. The Mediocrity Mafia
In the Al Pacino classic, Serpico, there is a narrative that best captures the essence of
Mediocrity Mafia. In Serpico, Al Pacino is the anguished cop fighting to expose the utterly
corrupt police department. To illustrate the impossibility of his situation and drive home
the message that he is fighting a losing battle, his girlfriend narrates a story.
“One night in an ancient kingdom, a wicked witch poisons the town’s well. The king
comes to know of it and refrains from drinking from the poisoned well. All the citizens
however, drink and become insane. The next day the insane citizens gather at the town
square accusing the king of having gone mad and clamor for a new king. Left with the
option of keeping his mind andlosing his monarchy, that night, the king slips in and drinks
from the well. The next day the citizens cheer the insane king as excellent.”
Professionals in Pharma, Healthcare and practically all other sectors from telecom
services to insurance and banking are in a similar situation like the king and choose the
path of insanity because the alternative is too frightening. The insecurity of being called
‘mad’ and asked to quit makes them forsake their sanity and join asylum of the mediocre.
Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization were touted as the panacea for India’s
economic ills. And it might have been if not for our penchant for fixing things the old way
through cronyism. Crony socialism has now become crony capitalism – same babus
from manmohan to montek in the same system with another dress code. Sure, there has
been progress, but excellence? Only a few landmarks like the Delhi Metro. It is the
Mediocrity Mafia and crony capitalism that are behind fiascos like the CWG, BCCI, 2G
and other of that genre.
The main problem with India is that Mediocrity Mafia dominates it – they’re everywhere.
From politics to paid media. Unlike the real Mafia, you cannot act against them easily,
because they’re us! Each Indian citizen has to make a commitment to the pursuit of
excellence. When our national culture changes from satisfaction with mediocrity to
pursuit of excellence, Mediocrity Mafia and their cronies will be sidelined but never
eliminated, mediocrity has always to be kept in check – by single-minded pursuit of
excellence.
The Indian FMCG and automobile sector and a few others seem to have beaten the
mediocrity mafia – never before has the Indian consumer been spoilt for so much choice.
Never mind the road conditions; the mediocrity mafia rules it.
India needs more intellectuals who have the guts to Think and Act; like Justice Santosh
Hegde. Thank God, the Supreme Court is an excellent example of commitment to pursuit
of excellence.
By the way, Serpico is based on the true story of a single, committed cop, who
ultimately succeeds to bring the guilty to book despite being shot at. Excellence doesn’t
come cheap. Unless you are prepared to make sacrifices, Mediocrity Mafia will continue
to call the shots and undermine our hard won freedom and democracy.
st
Anup Soans is Editor, MedicinMan – India’s 1 Magazine for Field Force Excellence.
http://www.medicinman.net