Management Rules: 50 New Rules for Managers

CHAPTER 44

HOW TO GET FIRED

There are plenty of creative ways of getting fired. At the extremes, theft, illegal conduct and a Christmas party which gets out of hand are some of the more creative and unusual ways of finding the exit door.

But normally, most firms and most bosses are quite reluctant to fire people. The firm fears litigation. And most bosses, apart from a few psychopaths, are mortified at the prospect of firing anyone, let alone a colleague they know. Of course, if you have a gold medal in incompetence, then eventually nothing can save you. In some firms and some parts of the public sector you are more likely to die in service than be fired for cause; and these are not physically dangerous occupations.

Bosses forgive most sins, ...