‘Hire slow, fire fast’ is a theme often repeated by John Dumas, host of the podcast Entrepreneur on Fire. In my experience, it is definitely worthwhile to take the time to find the right people when hiring to build your team. However, when it becomes clear that someone does not quite fit in with the team and overall direction, prompt and swift action is required. Like a cancer, they can eat into your team, causing unnecessary distractions and breaking the team dynamic and cohesion.
John Madden is a former American Football player, Super Bowl-winning coach, broadcaster and the name behind the popular Madden NFL video game series. Madden has a famous expression for describing football teams or players whose performance on the field is not quite up to scratch. He calls it their “yeah, but.” For example, yeah they are a good team, but they have never won the championship. Do you have ‘yeah, but’ performers on your team? If so, it may be time to apply the “hire slow, fire fast” principle.
“Rethink without over-thinking”
GAICD, M.Comp (Monash)
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