If you’ve ever been fired you know how difficult that can be. I’ve needed to fire many employees over my 45 years as president of my own company. And while I still have trouble pulling the trigger, I’ve come to see “firing” people in a new light. Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet that “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” When it comes to letting someone go, I’ve found that what I might otherwise consider “bad” actually leads to better opportunities for my former employee and a better new employee for my company
Years ago my friend John called to complain that the magazine he’d been working for fired him. To his shock, I congratulated John when we met for dinner.
“John,” I said, “you’ve complained to me about that job for the last ten years. Now you’re free to pursue other opportunities, like writing the novel you’ve always talked about. In six months you’ll be much happier.”
John smiled and finished another glass of wine, not quite believing me. But six months later he was bragging—to me—about being so excited by all of his new projects that he didn’t have enough time for all of them.
When I opened my own law firm at age 27, it took me six months to tell my legal secretary Judy that her work was not up to my standard. She pleaded and cried before she left. That was unpleasant for both of us.
A year and a half later Judy approached me in the lunch room of the same office building.
“Remember me?” she said.
“Of course I do.”
“I’m now working for the attorney in the penthouse. And he thinks I’m the best secretary he’s ever had.”
I believed her. My requirements are high, and not everyone can meet them. Judy had found a better place to work, both for her own sake and for the sake of her new boss.
Several years ago my cousin Edward was accepted to a prestigious business school and asked me for an internship in order to get some hands-on experience in commercial real estate before starting his MBA. Visions of sugarplums danced in my head. Here was a bright young man who could raise my entire organization to a higher level. So I offered him a generous salary for a two-year internship.
Silly me. During his first week on the job, it became obvious that Edward wasn’t all that interested in real estate. I would have worked fourteen hours a day to learn everything I possibly could. Edward promptly asked to shave thirty minutes off his lunch so that he could leave half an hour early each day. After eight months I told Edward that his internship wasn’t working out. He soon found a position working with a company in the field of electronics.
Six months later, Edward told me that he was thrilled in his new job, and was elated to work until two in the morning.
My point is this. It is vital for each of us to find our personal niche in life and occupy it. Many people hate working in an office, and would prefer to become a waiter or a forest ranger. Some people gravitate toward situations that require them to be away from home for days or weeks at a time. Some love to manipulate numbers, like I do. Others prefer to interact with people. There is no “good” or “bad” here. There is only personal preference.
Only when John was dismissed could he find the life he wanted all along.
After I fired Judy she found a niche in which she was a star.
Edward was fully engaged his new internship.
Of course, if an employee doesn’t work out, the best situation would be to not hire him or her in the first place. But if you do end up with an employee who doesn’t work out for you, do not hesitate to call in your Human Resources department (which might be you) and send them to greener pastures.
Alan
This is an edited excerpt from Alan Fox’s new book, People Tools for Business: 50 Strategies for Building Success, Creating Wealth, and Finding Happiness. Click here to order a copy today.
I read a NY Times op ed piece yesterday about aging, the author feeling uncomfortable as the oldest person in the room. I wondered, “What has changed for me?”
And I have enough time, no more and no less, for the people who are important in my life. It might be a brief encounter in my office, a regular lunch date with someone I have enjoyed for many years, or the most comfortable and intimate conversations I experience with family, dear friends, and my wife.
One of the most important qualities you can have to succeed in your life is not intelligence, money, or education. What you need is actually free, and you can have it today and every day for the rest of your life.
I was surprised, as I often am when someone is different from me in an important way. We continued our conversation talking about less substantial matters like cabbages and kings. At the same time my subconscious was working on an idea. 
