Page 150 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

grocery store.You had to go through the slaughterhouse to get upstairs to
the cold lockers where the meat was stored. Since this was such an Italian
community, veal was really in demand. And the way they slaughtered veal
was by cutting the calf’s throat and then hanging it up to bleed out. I’ll
never forget the first time I saw that. I was about four or five. Obviously,
this was not Looney Tunes, and I was
really upset. I said to my father in Ital-
YOU CANNOT
ian, “It’s terrible.”
ALWAYS SAY “NO”
My grandfather said wryly, “It could
TO THE CEO OR
be worse.”
PRESIDENT AND
“What do you mean, Dad?” my
STILL APPEAR TO
father asked my grandfather.
HAVE THE
My grandfather nodded at me. “Tell
ORGANIZATION’S
David he could be a veal calf.”
BEST INTERESTS AT
Having to fire people is terrible. But
HEART.
remember, it could be worse.
The important thing to understand
about firing is that it is both an art and a science. It’s a science in the sense
that you have to do things by the book according to the organization’s own
policies and according to the law.
And it’s an art in the sense that you have to accomplish this firing with-
out causing too much of a scene. If you engender a lot of bitterness with
the way you fire, it is very bad for your reputation because it is bad for
your organization’s reputation.
Of course, by the time you reach a firing, there may be considerable
anger or desire for revenge on your side. Well, if there were ever a time to
swallow such emotions and treat an event coolly, as a business transac-
tion, a firing is it. This is no time for any kind of macho display. It is much
wiser to keep the dignity of the person you are firing intact.
First, in the case of performance problems, surprises are a bad idea.
Admit your mistakes early, but don’t act rashly. Generally, it’s better to

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