October 2006

Two of the women that I hired are very focused and professional. The last couple of months I have had great support to clean up any leftover mess, plus work on what really needs to be done. It is really a pleasure to have the support, particularly because there is such little task or emotional management for either of those employees. They do what they say they will do, they are able to figure out what to do or how to do it (at least they try before asking me!), and they are in good humor. This is what I have been looking for. In stark contrast, I hired someone who is no good. I am pleased to say that I recognized it early (wow!) and am moving on very fast. I have heard the motto “Hire Slow. Fire Fast.” Now I can own it. There is nothing so expensive and draining as a bad employee, especially in a small business. There is no one to cover up the problems that a bad employee creates. We each have to really do our job well – and reliably well.

The better the staff gets, the more the sore thumbs stick out. There are two employees who are poor. One is in a key position, and that (change) is almost too much to face. It seems there is hardly any time for doing business! There is so much time spent working on the business.