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Be the tall poppy
The pressure to be average
In some countries the concept is culturally important: everybody is expected to be the same. Say that you can do something special, and the response is to cut you down to size.
A version of it pulls at American society today, in a movement in politics and economics toward the purported ideal that everybody ought to be equal, which is to say, that nobody is special.
Jobs as the tall poppy
Steve Jobs stood on the other side of that. The whole point of Jobs, and the whole point of Apple, was to be special, to be the tall poppy.
The same choice is open to anyone, not just Apple. It comes down to expectations, the difference between good enough and great. Good enough was good enough for a long time, but thanks to Jobs, it isn't anymore.
Where does the tall poppy image come from?
The image goes back to ancient accounts of the Roman king Tarquin the Proud, retold by the historian Livy. His son sent a messenger asking what to do about the town of Gabii, and Tarquin said nothing, walking through his garden and cutting off the tallest poppies with a stick. The son took the hint and had the leading men of Gabii killed. Herodotus tells a similar tale about the tyrant Thrasybulus, who used ears of grain instead of poppies.
Why do people resent high achievers?
Psychologists link it to social comparison, an idea Leon Festinger laid out in 1954: people judge themselves by measuring against those around them. A standout makes everyone else's position look lower by comparison. The Australian psychologist Norman Feather studied attitudes toward high achievers and found that people took more pleasure in a high achiever's fall when the success seemed unearned. Researchers call that reaction schadenfreude.
Why is the phrase tied to Australia and New Zealand?
The expression became common in Australian and New Zealand English during the twentieth century. It was often used to describe public criticism of prominent people who had risen above their peers. Australian writers have also linked it to a long-running egalitarian streak in the country's national story. Both countries now have researchers who study the pattern in workplaces and schools.
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