That reminds me of a "C" level boss I had at a tech company. In a private meeting he said, "George, I think this team is not world class." Like he had discovered a crucial flaw that needed to be fixed. The product (that made them millions) was not world class in its design or engineering. The management of the company and its strategy was not in my opinion the best in the world. Sometimes there is this fever dream of excellence that prevents managers from being realistic about what is really necessary to get a thing done.