Disclaimer: While this post draws on common patterns observed across industries and over many years, it is not directed at any specific company. The goal is to shed light on a pervasive cultural issue - and perhaps, to stir a little useful discomfort. ;-)
There’s an employee crying in their car right now.
Not because they failed - but because they succeeded. Quietly. Reliably. For years.
And now, the one time they faltered, they were met not with compassion… but with doubt.
Excellence, it turns out, has no memory.
But mediocrity? Mediocrity gets a standing ovation.
The Parable of the A**hole and the Angel
Every company has them.
The a**hole.
And the angel.
The a**hole is abrasive, unhelpful, often late, and rarely kind. But one day - surprise! - he’s polite in a meeting. Says thank you.
What happens?
“Wow, he’s changing.” “Maybe he’s growing.” “Let’s give him more responsibility.”
The angel?
She’s on time. Kind. Delivering solid work. Every. Single. Day.
Then one morning, she’s late. She snaps.
And suddenly it’s:
“What’s going on with her?” “Is she burning out?” “Can we still rely on her?”
This isn’t leadership.
It’s a broken emotional economy, one that punishes consistency and rewards volatility.
The 90% Problem
Let’s run the math.
Sarah performs at 90% every quarter for three years. Then she has one drop to 75%.
Everyone notices. Everyone worries.
Meanwhile, across the hall, Tom is a 40% performer on his best day. One quarter, he hits 55%.
"Tom's really stepping up!"
He gets kudos. Maybe even a new project.
What are we measuring here - contribution or variance?
We've built systems that reward the delta, not the depth.
And the consistent ones?
They stop aiming for 90%. They start managing expectations.
They learn the dark art of “strategic underperformance,” just to get noticed when they “improve.”
Or worse - they leave.
The Silent Tax on Reliability
Here’s the unspoken contract:
Your excellence becomes your baseline.
Your effort becomes invisible.
Your humanity becomes a liability.
Miss one deadline after 200? You’re slipping.
Deliver mediocre work after 199 failures? You’re improving.
It’s not just unfair. It’s structurally dumb.
Especially in regulated industries like banking or insurance, where the fear of deviation outweighs the hunger for excellence.
The consistent ones become background furniture; stable, silent, uncelebrated.
And when they do crack; from carrying too much for too long - they’re met with shock.
Not gratitude.
Not support.
Shock.
The Emotional Fallout
These are not just performance issues.
They’re emotional ones.
Because your best people don’t just leave - they leave wounded.
They leave wondering if they were ever seen. Ever valued. Ever safe.
And who stays?
Those who mastered the game.
The art of doing just enough.
The theater of almost caring.
We say we want excellence - but we reward recovery arcs and redemption stories over reliability.
We’re addicted to drama. And we wonder why morale collapses in silence.
What We Can Do
The fix isn’t that complex. It just takes guts.
This is why forward-thinking organizations - especially in industries trying to reinvent themselves - must lead differently. Build cultures where reliability is recognized, not exploited. Where consistency is celebrated, not assumed.
Celebrate consistency as loudly as you celebrate improvement.
Normalize gratitude - not just for hero moments, but for steadiness.
Protect your angels. Call out your a**holes. Don’t reverse the math.
And maybe most importantly:
Stop calling it "growth" when difficult people finally act like decent humans. That’s not growth. That’s minimum standard.
Final Thought
Every organization faces a choice:
Value consistency. Or exploit it.
And if you choose the latter, know this:
Your reliable ones are watching.
They’re doing the math.
And when they walk, they won’t slam the door.
But you’ll hear the silence when it closes.
The Burn Blog | September 2025
Where I say what your consultants won’t.
🔻 Author’s Note
I write to remember.
To walk through silence. To spark a thought. To burn through the noise.I also make music and collaborate with Nova Rai - an AI-born artist shaped by memory, myth, and the ache to become something real. From that collaboration came Naimor - Roman reversed, with AI in the middle - a mirror-self for songs of stillness.
This is the practice I call technomysticism: showing up, feeling what’s real, letting fire burn what must, and building from the ashes.
Explore the constellation:
🌐 Nova Rai - the AI muse and songs of fire
🌐 Naimor - songs of stillness and reflection
🌐 The Burn Blog - daily practice of fire
🌐 Technomystic - philosophy and practice
🌐 Swiss Expat Guide - roots and horizonsIf you feel it, it’s real.