Last Updated on 1 October 2025 at 17:59
Every major project today is a technology project. Whether it’s building a fintech platform, deploying a new CRM, or transforming legacy infrastructure, technology is the backbone of progress. Yet mediocrity thrives here, hidden behind jargon-heavy presentations, bloated timelines, and the illusion of complexity.
In most organizations, this mediocrity goes unchallenged. The reasons? Power plays, risk aversion, and a culture that prioritizes “safety” over results. But in turnarounds, the rules change. Mediocrity is no longer a tolerated inefficiency — it’s a dangerous and risky liability. And nowhere is this shift more evident than in tech-driven projects, where every delay and failure is amplified by high stakes and tight deadlines.
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Why Tech Projects Breed Mediocrity
Technology projects should thrive on precision, collaboration, and execution. Instead, they often become breeding grounds for mediocrity. Why ? Because complex projects often combine complexity with ambiguity.
Decision-makers frequently don’t understand what they’re buying or implementing. Instead of evaluating solutions based on technical merit or long-term ROI, they rely on sympathetic sellers who exploit their lack of knowledge with polished pitches and buzzwords. Worse, personal interests, like commission-based incentives or quid-pro-quo favours, often override objective assessments. The result ? Overpriced, long, ill-suited solutions championed ans sponsored by those more invested in relationships than results.
How it works in all cases: the mediocre players hide behind the inherent complexity of technology and the “allergy” of most leadership teams and board members to such sector. All these people use technical jargon to deflect scrutiny, making it difficult for stakeholders to challenge their decisions.
Example: “The new system migration didn’t fail — and we are not in a crisis situation at all — it’s a multi-phased and multi-years implementation hindered by legacy systems and a very complex project.” Translation ? “The project is not complex, but we have no idea what we have done — and you don’t need to argue because we will continue to tell the same answer as we have a lot to hide.”
1. The Illusion of Expertise
Mediocre players exploit the technical knowledge gap between leadership and development teams. They bombard executives with jargon — such as “agile frameworks” or “CI/CD pipelines” or even “cloud-native architectures” — to create the impression of expertise while avoiding scrutiny of their actual contributions.
For example, a project manager boasts about implementing “micro-services architecture to reduce technical debt” but the reality is an over-engineered system that bloats costs and delays timelines. The buzzword arsenal is full up in such situations. Buzzwords like “blockchain-enabled” or “hyperautomation” and “zero-trust architecture” are thrown around to inflate the perceived value of an idea.
These terms often lack substance or practical application but create an illusion of progress — ignoring the simpler, cheaper alternative of using well-tested SaaS tools.
2. Deflection through Complexity
Technology projects are inherently complex, and mediocre players use this to their advantage. When projects falter, they blame “unforeseen technical challenges”, or vendor issues, or evolving requirements — anything but their own poor decisions.When a software rollout misses deadlines, then the ideal culprit blames the “integration complexity” instead of acknowledging a lack of proper planning during the design phase.
Indeed, in tech projects, decisions are often made by those far removed from execution. Product managers, tech leads, and even CIOs can dictate strategy without being held accountable for its failure.
Mediocrity in such situation hides behind the latest trends in tech: AI, blockchain, digital twins, etc. They invoke these terms to inflate their perceived value without delivering meaningful results. For instance, a team lead insists on implementing “AI-driven optimization” but fails to articulate how it adds measurable value to the project.
3. The Cult of the Gantt Chart
Mediocrity loves a well-designed project plan — because plans look good on paper, and someone have never been fired for presenting such a plan — even when actions and steps are detached from reality. Mediocre players obsess over timelines, milestones, and dashboards but ignore the actual work needed to achieve them.
In practice, a program manager spends weeks perfecting a roadmap presentation for stakeholders but neglects the backlog grooming needed to unblock developers. Tech teams often avoid calling out flawed decisions because the risks are too high. Challenging a program management director’s misguided vision can result in being sidelined or labelled as “not a team player”.
For example, a DevOps engineer raises concerns about a rushed CI/CD pipeline deployment. The response ? “Let’s focus on the positives”. Translation ? “Shut up if you want to keep your job”.
Turnarounds: the Anti-Mediocrity Environment
Turnarounds create conditions where mediocrity can no longer hide. In a failing technology project, the usual playbook of buzzwords, deflection, and optics is rendered ineffective by four key factors :
1. Ruthless Focus on Deliverables
Turnarounds demand tangible results on accelerated timelines.
There is no patience for vague promises or open-ended initiatives. Mediocre players, who thrive on delays and obfuscation, are forced into the harsh light of accountability. In such situations, a failed project is not just a missed opportunity — but a potential death sentence for the company. Mediocre players can’t hide behind excuses when survival depends on execution.
In our portfolio companies, a struggling bank undergoing digital transformation can’t afford to let its core banking system migration fail. Mediocre tech leads are quickly replaced by those who can deliver — at lease for a moment, because politicians are well skilled in coming back when situation is stabilized, trying to put all merits on them again.
In another mandate, a delayed SaaS deployment is given a final 45 days to stabilize or be scrapped. The turnaround leader demands weekly updates with measurable progress, forcing the team to abandon bloated processes and focus on critical fixes. In a similar situation, a cybersecurity overhaul have been given a six-month timeline forces the team to prioritize critical vulnerabilities, leaving no room for the “analysis paralysis” favoured by mediocre decision-makers.
2. A Flattened Power Hierarchy
Turnarounds often bring in external consultants, interim managers, or crisis teams who operate outside the usual hierarchy. These agents of change prioritize outcomes over politics, stripping mediocre players of their protective networks. Indeed, in stable environments, tech project decisions are often dictated by entrenched leaders or external vendors. In turnarounds, new leadership or external consultants are empowered to question and override these decisions.
For example in one of my projects, the main turnaround consultant vetoes a legacy ERP implementation pushed by a CIO and replaces it with a modular, agile-friendly solution. The CIO, who once called the shots, is sidelined. In other project, a legacy IT leader known for abnormal delays is sidelined by an external CIO who restructures the team, redistributes responsibilities, and eliminates redundancy.
3. Data as a Weapon
In a turnaround, data becomes the ultimate arbiter of truth. Mediocre players, who rely on subjective narratives, are exposed by metrics that track progress, performance, and impact in real-time. Indeed, turnarounds thrive on visibility. Every budget spent, every investment, every milestone missed, and every decision made is scrutinized. Mediocrity, which relies on ambiguity, collapses under this pressure.
For example, we work with a software development company to recover their operations and improve their efficiency. Following our audit and advisory session, the failing SaaS company introduced daily stand-ups and weekly performance reviews for product teams. Suddenly, the gaps in execution — and the loud players responsible — become glaringly obvious.
In other similar project, the cloud migration project plagued by delays is audited. Data revealed that 80% of the delays stem from misaligned dependencies, not the vendor’s performance as claimed by the project lead.
How to Dismantle Mediocrity in Tech Projects
Turnarounds don’t just provide an opportunity to fix failing projects — they create the perfect environment to call out mediocrity and reset standards. Here is how :
1. Break Down the Buzzwords
First, start by demystify the jargon. Mediocre players rely on buzzwords to mask incompetence. By translating their jargon into plain language, it’s exposing their lack of depth.
- What to do: Force clarity by translating jargon into actionable terms. Use questions to corner them. Their inability to answer as someone who know its job will do the rest.
- Example: When someone says, “We’re adopting an AI-powered solution to enhance scalability” then ask, “What specific processes will this optimize, and what are the projected time and cost savings ?”. In a similar vein, If someone says, “We need to AI/LLMs (leverage machine learning) to optimize workflows.” then respond with: “Can you clarify what data we’re using, how it’s modelled today, and the specific outcomes we’re targeting ?”
- Why it works: Stripping away the fluff exposes who actually understands the project and who’s faking it.
2. Insist on Measurable Outcomes
Loud players thrive in ambiguity — so forcing them to commit to specific outcomes creates accountability. Inefficiencies with buzzwords and lofty promises are the signature of such mediocre people, relying on the assumption that no one will dig deeper. So flip the script by demanding ROI clarity upfront. Ask pointed questions. Push for specifics — how, when, and by how much. If the math doesn’t add up, their pitch falls apart.
- What to do: Tie every decision to clear, quantifiable metrics.
- Example: Replace vague objectives like “improve system performance” with specific KPIs like “reduce page load times by 50% within 60 days”. Or become more specific and do not allow delays in responses because such people will obtain information from ChatGPT or Google: “You proposed this CRM overhaul. What exact metrics — customer acquisition, retention, revenue — should we expect to see improve, and in what approximative timeframe ?”
- Why it works: Mediocre players struggle when success criteria are unambiguous and without preparation.
3. Push for Radical Transparency
Mediocrity isolates its challengers. Aligning with other high performers shifts the power dynamic. Before questioning a loud player in a meeting, discuss concerns privately with trusted team members. Present a united front.
- What to do: Share progress, roadblocks, and decisions with all stakeholders to eliminate ambiguity.
- Example: Implement daily stand-ups and public sprint boards to ensure everyone knows what’s happening — and who’s responsible. Use collective language: “Several of us noticed a pattern. Can we discuss how to address it ?”
- Why it works: Transparency forces accountability, leaving no room for mediocrity to hide.
4. Compress Timelines
Mediocre players rely on delays to avoid accountability. Compressed timelines and iterative feedback cycles expose inefficiencies faster. So, instead of waiting six months for a full-scale deployment, propose a two-week sprint to deliver a minimum viable product. If they can’t handle it, they’re exposed.
- What to do: Break the project into smaller, time-boxed phases that demand quick results.
- Example: Instead of a two-year ERP implementation, mandate an MVP rollout within six months. Frame this as risk mitigation: “Short cycles allow us to adapt quickly without overcommitting resources”. It’s hard for even the loudest player to argue against pragmatism.
- Why it works: Mediocre players rely on delays to survive. Tight timelines disrupt their playbook.
5. Audit the Decision-Making Process
Tech projects often over-promise and under-deliver. By focusing on ROI, you strip away the noise and focus on tangible value.
- What to do: Review past decisions and ROIs to identify patterns of failure or inefficiency.
- Example: Conduct a post-mortem on why a platform launch was delayed and trace it back to decision points. If one person’s name keeps coming up, you’ve found your problem. Another example: “This platform integration cost a lot and a huge percentage of Capex investments, but hasn’t improved operational efficiency. Can we reassess its alignment with business goals ?”
- Why it works: Patterns don’t lie. They expose who’s contributing and who’s coasting.
6. Replace Mediocrity with Competence
Turnarounds prioritize organizational success over individual egos. By framing critiques as aligned with the company’s survival, it is much make it harder for mediocre players to retaliate.
- What to do: In a turnaround, don’t waste time trying to rehabilitate mediocre players. Replace them with people who can deliver. Now.
- Example: When a DevOps lead proves incapable of implementing pipelines, bring in a consultant or hire externally to get the job done. Something like: “To hit our turnaround targets, we need more actionable timelines for the migration. Can we revisit the project scope ?”
- Why it works: Turnarounds have zero tolerance for dead weight. Action beats loyalty every time.
Turnarounds as the Great Reset
In technology projects, mediocrity is often protected by the very systems meant to drive innovation — hierarchies, complexity, and risk aversion. But turnarounds flip the script and create such a strong pressure that only competence can thrive.
As a tech worker, if you find yourself in a turnaround, seize the opportunity. Use the urgency and clarity of the moment to dismantle mediocrity and reset the standard for excellence. And remember: in tech, as in life, results speak louder than buzzwords. Indeed, tech-driven projects are unforgiving. The budgets are high, the timelines are tight, and the margin for error is razor-thin. For those who’ve been sidelined by buzzwords and blocked by incompetent power plays, this is a chance.
Engaged at board & C-level in start-up, mid-sized, large multinational environments (Fortune 500) to solve strategic, financial, and operational issues.
Specialities:
• recovery of failing Projects & Programs
• strategy definition + implementation of transformational change
– turnaround
– performance improvement
– operational restructuring
– digital transformation.
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