Being the boss

Ain't being the boss great? You get to tell everyone what to do. You can have things your way. You don't answer to anyone.

Yeah right.

What it is, is responsibility. For starters you can't fail. If you do, it adversely impacts everyone that works for you. You wake up at night thinking of that. If you're smart you don't tell people what to do. You lead people to do the right thing on their own. If you are lucky enough to have good people then they will own as much of the responsibility for their success as you do. That's the formula for success, surround yourself with good, responsible people that own their jobs.

And that brings up the down side. The worst part of being the boss. You've hired someone that is not what you thought and that person is failing. And, worse yet, jeopardizing the operation. And you have to let them go. This just after they were so grateful, in this economic climate, to get a job. This is the worst. It's heartbreaking to have to tell an individual that they are not up to the job. Especially hard when they have family and need work.

This after the middle of the night soul searching. And, now you realize that the person can't be trained up to the job. It's not going to be experience that will change things. They just don't have the right mind for the job. The comedian Ron White says, "you can't fix stupid." Not that I'd say this person is stupid but the problem is unfixable. The abilities and the job are far apart.

So I'm the boss. And this problem stops at my desk. I've always believed that a sharp knife cuts clean. And the quicker the cut the better for everyone. Be honest and straight forward and be prepared to refuse the "I will try to do better." entreaties.

Sometimes I don't like being the boss.