How You Can Get Sacked #3

Disdain and arrogance are business relationship killers. Without relationships you are very isolated and more vulnerable to being “taken out” when the swinging axe of cut-backs comes suddenly.

One business leader told me this weekend of yet another round of redundancies he is responsible for implementing. His large global firm wanted a further cut of 20% of his team of 220 talented people. This was the third cut in 8 months. The firm had indicated that the first cut was likely to be the only one.

He had got rid of his bottom 10% (“the fat”) in that round. Then they asked him to cut into muscle, now on the third round it was cutting into the bone.

He didn’t know how he was going to do it. He had previously done the usual round of looking at annual performance reviews and removing the low performers. Next the medium performers. Did he really want just a small team of the high performers with high expectations and demands? They weren’t always the team players, but too self absorbed.

He was going to have a large tumbler of whiskey and then do 1, 2, 3, sack, 1, 2, 3, sack ……
These are emotional decisions based on whether he liked them or not, since he couldn’t differentiate on technical ability. Right or wrong, it is how our brains differentiate.

In conclusion be competent at your job and avoid arrogance or disdain – they are often a screen for social inadequacy and under confidence and draw fire from others at critical moments of selection.

Good luck
Warm regards
Jonathan