Say goodbye to the "Bad Guy"

Say goodbye to the “Bad Guy”

                As I was reading “Necessary Endings” by Dr. Henry Cloud I came across a section that jumped out at me. It was about the beauty of Self –Selection.  Before I dive into what that means, let me explain why it’s so important to me and probably many small business owners out there.

                If you are like me you have a hard time firing people.  I actually have a hard time saying goodbye in general.  I am a people person and enjoy having as many people in my life as possible.  However, it is inevitable that as a business owner you will have to end some relationships.  I have always had a fear of being the a$$hole guy who let someone go. So when I discovered the concept of Self-Selection, I was super pumped.

                I am going to do my best to explain how it works but before I do I highly recommend you order the book and read the information for yourself.

                Self –selection rids you of making the ending personal. You give the person the option to get rid of themselves .  Basically you set up a list of criteria of what you’re looking for in an employee, personal friend, romantic partner, booty call, whatever.  You tell them what you want and expect from them and give them the option to either live up to that standard or they can look for other options. It does not mean you do not like the person or you are against them in any way. It just sets a standard that they must meet in order to continue to be part of your life/business. 

                Some of you may think that this is the purpose of setting employee expectations and you are right.  However, over time you tend to build a bond with people and allow them to slack off.  Your employees become your family and you begin to let things slide here and there.  In order for a business to continue on it must grow and many times the people who were there from the beginning don’t want to grow.  So you have two choices, you can let them inhibit your growth or you can give them options to become a growth minded person.  Give them a list of expectations that you are looking for so that the company can grow.  If they do not wish to become the person needed to help the company expand then they have made their decision to leave.  You are letting them make the decision to leave or stay.

                Is this just a cop out of making a hard decision?

                Some people may feel that way.  If there is a reason to fire a person, like not following policy or messing up big time, it’s an easy conversation.  They screwed up and they know it.  The situation I’m talking about is when a person does the job but is not taking the extra step.  When they are just going through the motions and not doing the little everyday extras that make a company extraordinary. This is when a self-selection talk is necessary.  It may also be a wakeup call for the person you have the conversation with.  We all need one of these now and again.  Just a quick, “Hey, you’re being complacent and it’s time to get back on your grind. “

These self-selection talks may also be great to have with the man/woman in the mirror.  Take a hard look at yourself and see if you are just going through the motions in life.  Are you giving everything you have to what you’re doing or are you just going through the motions every day?  Have you set a date to complete a project?  Have you decided how long you will chase that dream before switching up for another dream? It can be very powerful to give yourself a time constraints to complete things.  You only have a short time to be here, you better make the most of it.