Recently I have been in conversations with a couple of advisors that I respect immensely talking about what we are going to do to take our company to the next level. Note – lots more to discuss on that soon… As we have been talking, I have been reminded of something that I have told team members from the time we launched the company – if at any time you feel that this is not the right fit and it is not working for you, you should decide to move on before it becomes disadvantageous for both you and us. Recently we have been discussing this message with the team – “Believe it or leave it”.
So often, CEO’s have been afraid to say this to employees and staff. I have found myself falling into that trap before. Sometimes it is because we care for people too much. Sometimes it is because we fear the repercussions of a potential person leaving. However, unfortunately, I have learned time after time that prolonging a team member who is not committed to the mission is an unsuccessful strategy. Not that I am saying it does not make sense to try to bring people around who become disenchanted or disenfranchised. It certainly is. Better to get a team member re-engaged than to try again with someone new. But if the fire is not there and it is not possible to restart the fire, then the best decision is to part ways. The job of a CEO is to continue the momentum and moving the company forward. In essence, to keep the company firing on ALL cylinders. Figure it out. Fix it if possible. And if the person does not believe, make the change before it becomes a larger problem.
Do you believe in the philosophy of “believe it or leave it”? Have you fallen into the trap before? Can you keep the company firing on ALL cylinders?
