All of us at one time or another have worked with a complete moron. A person who no one likes, and worse, may be a complete tool.
After you make your initial discovery (“Oh my god! Laura doesn’t know how to use Excel!” or “I think Jim just looked down my blouse!”) you wonder if you’re the only person who’s noticed. You might even become paranoid.
Eventually somewhere - in the break room or the bathroom - another colleague says, “Did you overhear what Jim said to Jake this morning?” Suddently Jim’s cover is blown; now you know that Jim’s a jerk to everyone, not just you.
How long will you organization tolerate a Jim, or any jerk? A BusinessWeek podcast I heard last year said that it takes most managers 60 days to realize that they’ve made a poor hire… and it takes them years to fire them.
Not at Zappos. The same store that makes our footwear dreams come true has some unique people policies. Like this one: after a week of training, they offer to pay employees for their time, and offer them $1,000… to leave.
That’s right: Zappos asks trainees to self-select if they’re not a fit for the shoe business. Strong cultures like Zappos’ have strong, differentiated people-policies. I love it! I just wish it had been in effect at my office when Jim was hired. I wonder if he would’ve been smart enough to take it?
Read and watch more about Zappos.
