After 2 days of sub par performance from my virtual assistants I had to pull a Donald Trump and say YOU’RE BOTH FIRED. Just look around the blog and you can see why I had to tell them “don’t let the door hit you where the good lord split you”.
I think too many business owners put up with too much crap because they don’t want to be “the bad guy”.
Here are some B.S excuses that I hear from business owners in denial not wanting to fire an employee. “I feel bad she is a single mother”, “It will get better”, “She needs the money”, “He is going through some tough times”. Sorry to be insensitive but I say Bull S***.
If any of the above is true then that’s the more reason he/she need to work even harder.
Here are a couple of personal case studies for you:
Case Study 1: Judy
Judy is a 40 year old woman recently divorced with two young kids. She was in desperate need for a job so we hired her to work about 25 hours a week at our boot camp. One Monday on the way to Vegas I received a call from my business partner Alejandra about Judy asking for a raise after 3 months. I agreed with her request. Later on Thursday when I was talking to my business partner she mentioned that Judy has called off work for the rest of the week. I immediately thought she is in the hospital or something bad had happened ONLY to find out she was tired and stressed out. WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? You asked for a raise because you’re broke BUT yet are too tired working 25 hours a week. REALLY??? YOU’RE FIRED
Case Study 2: Scott
Scott is a 42 year old gym teacher and a former employee. He came asking to work because he got laid off from the school district. After a couple of weeks I get reports that he is moody, not getting along with others and even had a confrontation with my manager when he was warned not to park his car in the client’s parking lot. REALLY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU’RE FIRED
I love Dan Kennedy’s rule “If I wake up 3 days in a row thinking about you and I am not sleeping with you then you got go”.
Remember Charlie Sheen a few months ago?
What the hell did he think was going to happen to his career when he talked S*** about his employer on national television under influence of some really good S***. (and I mean some really good S***)
Funny part is that he is suing his former employer for wrongful termination. Like Don King the boxing promoter says “ONLY IN AMERICA”
Charlie try doing that anywhere else in the world. Not only you will NEVER get 2.5 million an episode but your car would blow up like the God Father the first time you open your mouth.
Employers put up with sub bar performance, tardiness, laziness, drama, excessive sick days, and a bunch of other crap. Believe me I used to be one of them. When I started my business I wanted to make sure everyone was happy and I put up with little things here and there and jeopardized my business and core values just to make peace with everybody.
BIG MISTAKE……….
The truth is you can’t make everyone happy and it’s not your job to make everyone happy. So stop being captain save everybody (you know what I was thinking;) and grow some balls. You’re a business owner and an entrepreneur and your only obligation is to create a good working environment and make your business as profitable as possible. If your employee is not making you money then he/she is costing you money so they got to go. After all it’s YOU that put everything online to make the business happen. Worse case scenario if your business doesn’t make it (and it won’t if you put up with crap) your current employees will go work for the business across the street. You on the other hand might have to move back with your mama.
Let me give you some advise: NO MATTER WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH IN LIFE FROM EMPLOYEE TO BUSINESS PARTNERS AND EVEN YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SET EXPECTATIONS RIGHT FROM THE START.
There is a lot of truth to the saying give an inch and they ll take a mile. Letting things slide and looking the other way is the kiss of death for your business.
My friend told me that he once was washing his hands in the Trump Tower in New York when all of a sudden he hears a big bang. He saw Donald throwing a towel dispenser while yelling at his property manager “I told you towels should always be full”. Etxtreme maybe? I know if I am paying a premium price to live at the Trump Towers then I want my D*** towels.
How about the traffic air controller that was sleeping in Chicago that didn’t catch Obama’s plane getting dangerously close to another plane. YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING RIGHT? I mean of the are not watching the president then I wonder what they are doing when we’re on the plane? Playing craps?
Let me finish on a positive note and say that being an employer is not all bad. It’s a blessing to be able to provide a living for people. That’s the best part of being an employer. However it’s up to the employer to manage expectations and do what’s necessary to acquire what I call the A team.
Didn’t Your Mama Teach You it’s not Polite to Read Someone’s Blog and Not Leave a Comment
Great articles Sam, definitely have to be ruthless with people and run the show your own way
Great post Sam! You are so right about setting expectations from the beginning.
“Firing people is one of my favorite things. It’s a perk of my job” – Ari Gold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkhWE9N9inY
Great post, Sam!
Wow Sam that one hit close to home.
Thanks for setting the record straight. I think many entrepreneurs fall into this because we were once employees and probably did the Charlie Sheen and bad mouthed our employer.
Key take aways:
1. Know your ultimate goal you want to achieve with your biz.
2. Make sure all your employees understand your vision and will work towards it. It is a YES or NO question. They don’t tell you with their words but with their actions.
3. Don’t wait, address issues ASAP or it will become a bigger problem.
Thanks again Sam.
I love Dan Kennedy’s rule “If I wake up 3 days in a row thinking about you and I am not sleeping with you then you got go”.
I love that! good article…definately needs to be boundaries in business and the earlier they are set the better…hits close to home for me too..thank you
Great article Sam!
I think far too many employers have and continue to keep lowering their expectations. Not only does that leas to a corporate culture ( not to mention a general culture) with an attitude of “eh, who cares, it’s just not that important”, but the highly motivated employees either get discouraged & leave or just “dumb down” to stay with the pack.
Thank you ALL for reading my post and commenting. I am loving the community here.
Another great post bro. This is so true…one of the main reasons we are so picky with who we hire. We have interviewed for two weeks and it is hard damn work to find good, quality, trust worthy employees….
Keep them coming bro..talk to you soon!
I love this quote “If I wake up 3 days in a row thinking about you and I am not sleeping with you then you got go”.
I actually apply this kind of mentality with bad clients. If we have a client who is negative and never works hard, we actually ask them to leave.
We let them know that we are not the right fit for them. Firing clients works because it helps set the standard for the rest of your clientele and prevents their negativity to spread throughout your gym.
One bad client can cost you thousands of dollars.
Great post Sam
Thanks
Great post Sam…i’ll do it, thanks!
I remember Brian Tracy saying years ago that the best time to fire someone is the first time it crosses your mind. I ignore this advice on occasion, but almost always to my detriment. Just like you said Sam. You can be “nice” when it comes to firing, but just know that it will ALWAYS bite you in some way.
All good and bad things must come to an end, but it is hard to let go. And sometimes, that means telling an employee he or she will no longer be working anymore or be fired. Greatest frustration an employer must do, but better do it for the good of the company or let someone stay useless and pay the person’s worthless.
Wow Sam, you definitely tell it how it is. That’s a true business man! But I’m a little nervous about something you said, and I quote “If I wake up 3 days in a row thinking about you and I’m not sleeping with you then you gotta go.” Damn, I always think about you. I mean I’m in your gym every morning and writing for you at night. I can’t get you off my mind…LOL..just messing with you. You’re the best Sam…keep doing what you do.