I'm having a lot of fun with my new book, and the initial reactions from the folks who have bought it have found it to be inspiring, albeit in a roundabout way! After all, it identifies the things we should NOT be doing to move forward, and yet, we can find many of those behaviors that we are guilty of.
One of my biggest thrills came when the technical product lead for the world's largest mobile-robotic fleet at Amazon - 750,000+ robots! - had a short post about the book.
I need YOU to buy the book though - you are reading my Daily Inspiration post every day, so why not move to the next step and offer up a little bit of support? You can do that right now via the book Website at https://mediocrity.jimcarroll.com. Spend a moment to grab a copy, and then come back and learn a bit more about how you might use its anti-inspirational guidance - and bring a smile to my face!
With that in mind, I'm also thrilled to note that we've moved to the next stage of the follow-up companion sequel Escaping Mediocrity, and have just about finalized the text content. The next step is to generate the images and format the book; the cover is already complete and ready to go. We might be about a month out from delivery.
The key to the Escaping Mediocrity book is figuring out how to use it, and that's why I note in the Foreword that it's a teambuilding book!
When I wrote it, my goal was to shine a light on the all too comfortable habits that secretly sabotage our potential. Once I started pulling it together, I realized that it would be perfect for team-building exercises at corporate events! After all, it can be used as a humorous tool to make what could be uncomfortable conversations both productive and enjoyable.Think about it - by playfully examining mediocrity together, your team can develop stronger awareness and create practical strategies for excellence without pointing fingers.
Here are some thoughts on how to deploy Embracing Mediocrity within your team:
- Mirror Session: Have team members pick behaviors from the book they see in themselves and share them with the group in a relaxed discussion.
- Opposite Day: Give each person a mediocrity habit to act out for an hour - the awkwardness and laughs make for great learning!
- Role Reversal: Act out a scenario embracing mediocrity, then replay it showing excellence - the contrast is eye-opening!
- Mediocrity Bingo: Create fun bingo cards with behaviors from the book. Spot these habits during a meeting and quietly mark your card.
- Group Reflection: Chat in small groups about one mediocrity behavior, sharing personal stories and brainstorming better approaches.
- "What's Wrong Here?" Exercises: Show teams examples of mediocrity in action and let them spot issues using the book as their guide.
- Build Your Anti-Vision: Together, imagine a fictional company based on mediocrity, then plan how you'd turn it around!
- Silent Strategy Game: Teams act out mediocrity habits without words, while others guess and discuss what they're seeing.
- Mediocre Moments Chat: Create a lighthearted space where everyone shares times they settled for "good enough" and what they learned.
- Mediocrity Obstacle Course: Design a fun course where each obstacle represents a habit participants need to overcome.
- Excellence Swap Meet: Everyone brings one mediocrity habit they struggle with and trades it for someone else's strength.
- "Mediocrity Roast": Playfully roast the not-so-great habits team members notice in themselves, keeping it light and focused on growth.
- Daily Flip Card Challenge: Pick one behavior daily and challenge the team to actively avoid it throughout the workday.
- Culture Check-In: Together, evaluate your team culture against Carroll's ideas and suggest specific improvements.
- Excellence Skit: Teams create short, funny skits showing a mediocrity habit and how excellence transforms it.
- Personal Excellence Promise: Choose five behaviors to personally avoid, signing a fun symbolic agreement.
- Mediocrity Book Club: Host casual weekly chats about specific chapters, sharing how to apply insights at work.
- "Wall of Change": List mediocrity habits on a wall, then transform each into positive excellence commitments.
- Reverse Brainstorming: Start with a mediocrity habit, explore how to make it worse, then flip those ideas into solutions!
- Team Pledge: Create a team "anti-mediocrity pledge" based on the book's principles that everyone can stand behind.
- Quick Self-Check: Take a friendly quiz based on the book, then chat about results and insights as a team.
- Buddy Coaching: Pair up team members to help each other break specific mediocrity habits from the book.
- Habit Tracker: Create a simple monthly tracker where everyone monitors progress on eliminating mediocrity patterns.
- Mediocrity Escape Challenge: Design fun scenarios where teams must identify and "escape" from mediocrity traps.
- Playful Awards: Hold a lighthearted "Mediocrity Awards" ceremony to gently highlight habits, followed by improvement commitments.
These activities use the book's humor and insights to spark awareness, growth, and stronger team culture - all while having a bit of fun! It might be the case that teams who engage with these mediocrity concepts together develop a shared language for improvement without the blame game! As you work through these activities, you can naturally build a culture that resists mediocrity's pull and supports each member in reaching their highest potential. Remember, the goal isn't perfection—it's creating an environment where excellence becomes your default setting.
When the sequel comes out, this type of session will become even more powerful, because you can then assign a different perspective to different team members!
Remember, you can grab a copy of Embracing Mediocrity right now - just visit the main Website for the book - at https://mediocrity.jimcarroll.com
Bonus for Canadians - buy it directly from me, and not only will I scribble in your custom message and sign it - but you will know that you are supporting a Canadian printer! I have a wonderful fellow in Burlington, Ontario, who did a bulk print run for me.
I look forward to your order!
Make my day - buy one now, and spread the word!
Make me smile!
Hit that button!
Futurist Jim Carroll believes that by it is by examining the mediocre behaviors that define us we can best figure out how to escape from them.