(originally posted here)

I know a lot about management mishaps. After working for IBM for 10 years and then running three businesses of my own over the past 15 years, I have had my fair share of train wrecks both as a manager and employee. At IBM, they trained me as a classical manager with classes, simulations and 360 HR surveys. I felt fortunate to have that training when I started to manage my own businesses without the luxury of an HR department. I tried to learn from my experience at IBM where my manager used to have sales contests where first prize was lunch with him. (I asked, “What is second prize, two lunches with you?”).

Hiring the wrong person can be one of the biggest disasters for a company. I have hired and fired hundreds of people. I personally can remember being fired at least three times. Many of us have an urgent need to fill a position and we are too quick to hire anyone that looks like they would fit the position. We forget the most important HR adage, “Be Slow to Hire and Quick to Fire.”

Picture this: You woke up this morning and after one week with your new employee, you realize that you hired the wrong person. What do you do? How do you bounce from this type of mishap?

1. Failure is an Option: It’s time to realize you screwed up. This is the wrong person for your company. The decision to hire this person is not going to look any better next week. You failed. Accept it.
2. Face the Fear. Come into the office this morning and fire this person. It won’t be easy but you need to do it for the good of all the excellent employees in the company. It will be hard because you will feel partly responsible. You may have taken this person out of their previous job. They may have a family. You feel sick. You may have to go to the bathroom and throw up before you do this one.
3. Give Up the Shame. We all make mistakes. This was not your first and it won’t be the last. Feel sorry for yourself. Throw a pity party. Learn what you can. Cheer the darkness but now let it go, Bounce! You can let go of this failure once you fired the person.
4. Failure Gives Choices: You are now free to make another decision that will get a better person hired for your company. Maybe you need a different type of person than you originally thought for the job.
5. Take Action: Go hire someone else, but maybe you need help this time. Ask for it!