Out of step with ordinary people

What does it mean to be "out of step with ordinary people" and is being in step with ordinary people really something to aspire to? I'd be worried if the best of the universities were in step with ordinary people -- and equally worried if that were their goal. Ordinary and average are way over-rated -- they get a middling 2.5 out of five stars, for instance.

Can UW use its staff better? Of course. Does that mean it's over staffed? Having seen some layoffs and their effects, I'm forming the opinion that merely cutting staff isn't a way to make something more efficient, and that a far better alternative is to invest in improving the staff you've got and using them effectively. Do not be quick to level the charge of "over staffed" at anyone -- investment in staff, in quality people to professionally invest in solving the problems you exist to solve -- is an important investment. How much of the value of your organization is embodied in the staff that make it up?