|
I'm not fond of Donald Trump but I do like a few of the
things he does. His TV show, "The Apprentice", has made the saying
"You're Fired!" a common expression
lately. I have not yet watched an entire episode. The reason for that is his tagline.
I watch enough of Donald and I fire him before the end of the show. I
have been having fun with the term, you're
fired lately. I spent some time cleaning up a few to-be-sorted piles on my
desk. I told each document that I could not convince myself to keep, 'You're Fired'.
Into the wastebasket it went. I
have fired Rite Aid drug stores several times. Because there are three of them
on my drive path, they are convenient for shopping. Each time I get brain-dead
service at the check out counter, I mentally fire Rite Aid as I drive away. I
don't expect shopping at Rite Aid to be a life changing
experience every time I shop there; I do expect a few words of acknowledgement
from the cash register operator. Maybe a complete sentence once
in a while could be offered as a shopping bonus. My son tells me that the
cashiers don't feel a need to speak because the total for the
items scanned appears in the register screen. Register-bots are taking over retail.
Wal-Mart has been fired so many times by me that they have
a permanent pink slip. I
have fired Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh and Peter Jennings. I
have fired local talk radio. I've never enjoyed firing employees. It's
an unhappy situation that ends a series of unhappy situations. Trump is
a master at recognizing what he wants. If an employee performs differently than
his expectations, he ends it quickly. Many business owners choose to give the
benefit of the doubt and let an employee repeat poor performance for months and
years. The firing task becomes more difficult over time. The company suffers and
the supervisor suffers more. Many
employees also give the benefit of the doubt to employers. They wait months and
years before they fire their employers. Experience
has shown me that the waiting game for firing employers and employees goes on
much too long and that the conclusion from those who do the firing is usually,
why didn't I do that a long time ago. Firing
is an important part of keeping balance in your life. A clean break from things
that no longer have meaning or value to you is important. Fire
your problems today. I
help small business owners develop their leadership skills. Leading for success
is included as part of the eight key strategies for more profit in less time in
small business. Would you like to know more? Click
here. | 
