Sometimes you Add by Subtracting
Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith Esq. points to an article by Michael Schrage in CIO magazine.
How common is this scenario?: The CIO needs to improve the quality and credibility of the firm's IT implementations, but since he lacks the money and resources he believes would be needed, he's looking for a less expensive way to boost IT's performance.
If he asked you, what would you recommend? Beats me as well, but Michael Schrage, co-director of MIT's Media Lab and a monthly columnist for CIO magazine, has a snappy comeback: Fire the right person.
Michael’s article states:
Nothing boosts morale or heightens concentration quite like the public firing of an individual who everyone knows is a persistent obstacle to discipline, collaboration, quality and ethics during an implementation. …
If you don't have the courage to get rid of those who undermine productivity and performance, then it's painfully clear who really deserves to be fired.
Ouch. I know that I’ve been through that. With a small office, I’ve had an employee that worked hard and did good work, but was an angry person and put every one on edge. In the past, I’ve lost lost good employees because of not taking action against the employee with the bad attitude fast enough. That’s a mistake that I’ll try not to repeat in the future.
