INSTITUTIONALIZED MEDIOCRITY

We first heard the term "institutionalized mediocrity" in a seminar presentation made by one of the leading life insurance advocates for change in the paradigm we use to deliver financial advice. His premise is simple. Our institutions have been designed to produce large volumes of products economically through the use of numerous incremental production sequences. The production process places limits on human resource responsibilty, skill and initiative necessary to strive for personal excellence. In general, products are designed to have as broad a market appeal as possible in order to achieve an optimum level of profitabilty. In many ways the system has achieved its economic objectives. However, neither the delivery of financial security nor the delivery of competent health care are commodities. Prescribed medication and financial products are volume driven, price and profit sensitive production goods. Herein lies the compromise built into the standards of delivery of these goods to the consuming public. Professional advice be it medical or financial is by its nature impartial. It is the outcome of disciplined professional diagnosis. The delivery of "prescriptions", however, be they medical or financial products are driven by institutional demands for low cost, high volume and sustainable profit. The delivery of these "prescriptions" is greatly influenced by institutional economic realities that go beyond client care. They address demand but not care. Care is addressed by caregivers be they physicians or financial advisors. In the marketing of "prescriptions" institutions devote significant effort to promoting their proprietary medical or financial products. The incentives built into the delivery system are economically driven. The system does not include a focus on patient care. It includes simply economic results. The contradiction in purpose between the production of product solutions and the diagnostic advice necessary to prescribe optimum client solutions becomes compromised by the delivery process. Herein lies the origin of solution decisions that can be best described as "institutionalized mediocrity". Needless to say excellence in the delivery of both medical and financial services is available but not to the broadest income sectors which need it and for whom it is simply not available. Given the grossly inadequate number of professionally educated and trained advisors in Canada in both the accumulation and preservation of capital 14,000,000 boomers simply do not have access to the excellence of service they require given their extraordinary numbers. The system is ill prepared to handle the demand. Boomers demand excellence of themselves and expect the same of those who attend to their most personal needs. The current system cannot deliver the professional skill required by virtue of the lack of fully qualified professionals. Mediocrity is an inacceptable condition in this country. We are focussed on a solution to this need.