Says Powell, “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted and you’ll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset.”

That's true. I became more effective when that ceased to be one of my criteria. It doesn't seem like mediocrity--it seems like trying to produce win-win, but that is, in effect, what it is... 

I love how Albert Einstein put it: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

Does the opposition always have to be violent?

Only if they have mediocre minds? At least according to Einstein.

It makes sense that a mediocre mind is attracted to violence since it cannot appreciate better practices.