"C's Get Degrees"

I teach part-time at 2 universities. Last semester, I overheard a student in my class say to another, "Don't sweat it -- C's get degrees."

As someone who's admittedly a bit competitive and carries around some deeply ingrained opinions about "settling" when it comes to work and one's work performance, this statement outraged me.

My answer was, "C's may get degrees, but in the work world, C's don't get you promotions." Zing1

I've congratulated myself on being so pithy and self-righteous, but when I've subsequently shared this story with others, I've only gotten the "wow, you were right/what a slacker/way to set 'em straight!" response about 50% of the time.

One of my closest friends -- who happens to have a pretty incredible work ethic himself -- said, "Well, it's true, and it is efficient. Why push for the "A" when the "B" or "C" gets you the same degree when you graduate?"

Okay, so what say you? Should we be pushing ourselves, or being more efficient?