One of the hardest things to do as a manager is fire an employee.\u00a0 And unfortunately, there's not a lot of training on how to do it.\u00a0 Fortunately, some of the best leaders not only have a lot of experience doing it, but they've shared their advice and experience in doing it.<\/p>\n
Our friend, Eric Jorgenson<\/a>, has made his latest edition of Evergreen<\/a> all about the difficult challenge of firing a team member and I'm excited to share it today. (You can sign up to get all of Evergreen's in depth posts here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n Evergreens<\/strong><\/em> are designed to feel like short books, you're meant to meander and spend ~3 hours on this topic this week<\/em><\/strong>. Save some of these links and read them throughout the week. Immerse yourself in this topic and leave the week smarter than you started!<\/em><\/p>\n One of the worst work experiences anyone can have is being fired or having to fire someone. It's not a comfortable topic, nor one people look forward to discussing. That means it is full of opportunities.<\/p>\n We'll take a look at how some of the world's best managers and companies think about firing, and what we can learn that can remove the gut-wrenching tension, and empower us to build ever-better businesses.<\/p>\n Warren famously invests in management, specifically to avoid firing people. He does not enter companies where a management change is part of the plan.<\/p>\n \"One thing I don't like is when I have to make a change in management, when I have to tell somebody I think somebody else can do a better job.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That's an interesting way to phrase it\u200a\u2014\u200athat someone else could do a better job. Not that the manager is bad or incompetent or doing anything wrong\u200a\u2014\u200asimply that there is room for improvement and he has a duty to make that improvement. That doesn't make it easy for him though:<\/p>\n \"It's pure agony, and I usually postpone it and suck my thumb and do all kinds of other things before I finally carry it out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It seems like most people are the same way\u200a\u2014\u200afiring may be the most-procrastinated task in the business world. No one wants to pull the trigger.<\/p>\n When the firing decision is not based on performance, but on infractions of ethical or moral grounds, things are much more clear cut. Here's Buffett:<\/p>\n \"Lose money for my firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As an employee working under him that could not be more clear, and it's a rule that I'd be proud to work under. This iron rule is a great setup for a story from Buffett's friend and business partner\u2026<\/p>\n Charlie Munger, for those uninitiated, is Warren Buffett's right-hand man at Berkshire. He's a brilliant investor, billionaire, lawyer, and thinker. This story is excerpted from one of his more famous talks, The Psychology of Human Misjudgement<\/a>:<\/p>\nHow to Fire an Employee: How to Decide, When to do it, and How to be Guilt-free<\/h2>\n
When to Fire an Employee<\/h2>\n
Why Warren Buffett Fires People<\/h3>\n
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Charlie Munger's Favorite Firing Story<\/h3>\n