The “Who To Fire” Framework. Warning: It’s Not Pretty

2 traits define people who work with you

• Capable
• Compatible

Despite the best interview processes and intent, there are errors that creep in.

And it’s super critical to take a hard stand on such errors.

I have never regretted firing someone.

I have only regretted not doing it early enough.

The easiest are people who are neither capable nor compatible.

Such cases need deep honest introspection. How did they get past the system, the checks, the balances?

Irrespective of seniority, my experience is that it takes no more than a month to find such people.

Take them out on the first day of the second month!

Next are people who are not capable but compatible

These individuals need attention. Training. Mentorship. Guidance.

If done right, they can win. But organizations need to have the will and more importantly the patience to see them through

In my experience, these individuals can be identified in 3 months. And I would give them another 3-6 months to upskill. Else unfortunately counseled out

Capable but not compatible is a tricky one.

My personal experience – such cases never work out in the long run.

These are hard to conclude, extremely painful to execute and you will almost always want to live in denial.

In my experience, these take easily a year to surface.

Doing the right thing requires immense courage

To me, decisions made on capable but not compatible people is the hallmark of a seasoned entrepreneur or manager

In the long run, compatibility wins over capability

Let a capable person not tell you otherwise!

[This post by Ankur Warikoo first appeared on LinkedIn and has been reproduced with permission.]

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.