An owner’s dispatches from the front lines.Thinking Entrepreneur
The question came from a 20-something son sitting next to his 50-something father, who I hope was proud because the question was thoughtful and, I’m sure, on the minds of many. Also, it took some guts.
I had just given a speech to a group of family-business owners who were interested in professional development and succession planning. This was a very engaged group that was dedicated to improving their businesses and preparing them for the next generation. For me, it was the perfect audience because I was able to interact with several generations of owners with different experiences, perspectives and attitudes. I always look forward to taking questions, and this session was particularly rich.
The son was trying to reconcile some of the ideas I had been tossing around. “How do you balance a nurturing environment with being cutthroat?” he asked.
The title of my speech was “The Power of Being a Little Bit Better.” It is pretty much an outline of what the boss needs to do to grow a little faster by providing a better experience to the customer. It includes subjects including hiring the right people and setting standards. But one part of the speech always elicits the most questions, produces the most angst, and, I believe, provides the most value to the crowd. At least, that’s what people tell me.
Here’s what I say: Even after the careful hiring, the thorough training and the positive coaching (not to mention the pizza parties), some people will just not be able or willing to do the job. Some may be difficult to work with, or maybe they are nice people who work hard, are loyal and are just in the wrong job. With some of these people, all of the coaching in the world will not solve the problem. The only solution is to move the person to a more appropriate job — maybe in your company, probably somewhere else.
Yes, sometimes in the pursuit of excellence, you have to fire people. And yes, I am well aware that there are many bad bosses out there and that many people get fired through no fault of their own. I get it, I really do. But that is a whole other subject. Today’s subject is the question from the son: “How do you balance a nurturing environment with being cutthroat?”
Ahh. It was like having a slow pitch thrown right down the middle of the plate. “The answer is in your question,” I replied. “Do you really think that firing someone who can’t do the job is cutthroat? Does doing this make you a bad person? Is it mean, unethical, unfair or ruthless?
“I’ll tell you what it makes you if you don’t do it,” I continued. “It makes you a bad boss. A bad boss because you are cheating your customers of good service or a good product. And, you are probably subjecting your other employees to having to fix, cover for or put up with someone who makes their jobs harder, or even miserable.”
At this point, I figured I might as well drive the point home, or maybe I was just out of control on my soapbox. “And if some of you think that you won’t or can’t be as mean as I am?” I said, “don’t flatter yourselves. My turnover is less than 10 percent, and my average employee has been with me more than nine years. Not firing people does not make you nicer than I am. It just makes you irresponsible, and your customers and your other employees pay the price.”
Done. I looked around the room. It didn’t appear that anyone was preparing to throw anything at me. I was going to get out alive, again. This is my tough love speech. I love happy customers, I love happy work environments, and I love successful companies that can be taken over by the next generation and continue to provide jobs. But I also realize that firing is tough on everyone involved.
Then someone else offered a perspective that I have heard many times. He cited an example of a former employee he had had to fire who is now doing very well in a new job. The fact is, this happens all of the time. Sometimes the situation is different, the dynamics are different, the management is better, or perhaps the person benefits from a lesson learned or just from starting over with a clean slate.
Part of the reason I love taking questions is that it’s a game I think I’m good at. I know very few answers on “Jeopardy!” I am not good at Trivial Pursuit, and I can’t name that tune. But I am able to defend myself, or give a reasonably good answer, to a question about small business — or, at least, I thought that until the next question arrived. It came from a man who is my age and in the third generation of ownership at his family’s business: “Do you think the kids are entitled to the business?”
That one left me speechless: so personal, so deep, so complicated and so appropriate for that forum (and this one). After 30 seconds or so, I gave a half-baked answer. In fact, I am still baking. I will tell you my answer next week.
Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago.
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