Broadcasters
What makes me fire people?
Dishonesty is the primary offence. Indiscipline is another. Greed and selfishness are also high on the list. No matter how competent you are, the moment I uncover an act of deception, you’re gone. How can you and I be in the room, sitting across from each other and discussing the fortunes of the company, when I know you are a common criminal in a shirt and tie? It would be impossible for me to keep you as an employee. Most of the people I’ve fired were not upright individuals.
Dishonesty, which stems from disloyalty, warrants immediate dismissal.
Loyalty should be a significant consideration in filling positions. We all tend to look at competence-which is non-negotiable, by the way— but a competent manager who is disloyal will still ruin your company.
In my experience, loyalty is not a function of how long someone has worked for you, either. The time they’ve been with you can certainly be an indicator, as you know that these are people who have grown with the company and shown commitment. That’s good, and it makes you more comfortable. However, loyalty can show up very early in an employee’s tenure as well. They don’t need to have worked for you for a full year before you spot it.
How does loyalty work? Loyal employees do not undermine you or the company. They don’t badmouth or criticize you in front of others.
When there are things they disagree with, they will find a way of telling you privately. They watch out for you and the business. They go the extra mile to make things right. They never seek to take advantage of you or the system. Instead, they want to see how the company can grow, how you can position it better in the market, and how to cut costs. They’re ready to forgo their own comfort and privileges when necessary. They place the company above personal interests. If they want to leave, for whatever reason, they will broach the subject with you in confidence.
Disloyalty is not dissimilar to a cancer that will spread far and wide to ruin an organization. I had a CEO who snuck around behind us to ask one of our biggest clients not to buy diesel from Zenon, explaining that he had his own company that could supply them instead. How could you keep such a manager in your business, let alone your CEO? It would make more sense to shut down your company and apply to work for his. There are people out there who will do anything to grow their own business on the side, and chase you out of the market, all the while standing with you and smiling. If you don’t know what they’re doing behind your back, you’ll wake up one day to discover that you don’t have a business anymore.
