Another First

Getting fired is never a good thing, unless it comes with a brilliant golden parachute.
Firing people, as I realized today, doesn't feel great either.

People get fired for various reasons: incompetence, shoddy work, sleeping with the boss' wife, watching porn at work, blogging at work...and the list goes on. I would have been feeling much better had the reason for firing the person today had been any one of the above. It wasn't.

As a small but growing startup we do end up demanding a lot from our employees (me included). It is true we can't afford exorbitant paychecks but as incentives we provide a learning environment where the more responsibility you take, the more you learn. So two qualities are a must if you want to stick around: one, show me you want to learn, and two, take on responsibilities and deliver.

Contrary to the animated claims during the interviews, the person who got fired lacked both. It’s frustrating, when you know the person is smart and capable, and yet they throw it all away. The couple of months working together turn out to be a total waste of time for both parties.

Well, this was a first, and surprisingly I didn't enjoy the experience. Hope the next egg turns out to be better!

Iyer

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