Managing to Make a Difference

Chapter 41Sometimes Firing Someone Is the Caring Thing to Do

If you are committed to building an extraordinary team, the people on your team are likely to be full of determination and willing to push themselves hard to succeed. The kind of people you want for your team are the kind of people who never quit. But what happens when their determination and grit drives them to continue striving for a goal they will never achieve because it does not fit with their talent, even when doing so makes them miserable and negatively affects their happiness or even their health? An example from sports may help:

Professional Boxers Don't Quit

Boxing is a dangerous sport. The primary job of the referee is to ensure the safety of two combatants who are aggressively trying to hurt each other to the point that one of them will be unable to continue. The winner is the last person standing. Stepping into the ring takes a considerable amount of courage. It is also a “sudden death” kind of sport. Even if a boxer seems to be losing decisively, one good punch can turn the tide and win the fight.

I recently watched a fight in which the two boxers were not equally matched. One guy was getting the living daylights beat out of him. But he was a professional boxer—full of courage, determination, and heart. He would not give up. Eventually, even though both men were still standing, the trainer of the overmatched boxer threw in the towel, ending the fight. Sometimes, you cannot leave the decision to quit ...