Hiring Slow, Firing Smart: Lessons in People Decisions

If you want to build a strong business, you have to make strong people decisions. Few things will shape your success more than who you bring in—and who you let go. Yet most leaders rush the hiring process and drag their feet when it’s time to make a tough call. The result? Missed opportunities, damaged morale, wasted time, and expensive turnover. I’ve made those mistakes. And I’ve learned that hiring slow and firing smart is one of the most powerful disciplines in leadership.

The High Cost of a Bad Hire

Hiring the wrong person doesn’t just cost money. It costs momentum. It disrupts culture. It drags down high-performers. Studies show that one bad hire can cost up to $240,000 when you account for onboarding, lost productivity, and team impact. But even more dangerous is what happens in your culture when you keep someone who doesn’t belong.

• Your team starts to question your standards

• A-players get frustrated doing damage control

• Leaders spend more time managing attitude than performance

• You normalize mediocrity—and excellence quietly exits

Why Leaders Hire Too Fast

Rushed hiring happens for three reasons:

• You’re desperate to fill the role and relieve pressure

• You don’t have a clear hiring process

• You overvalue skills and undervalue attitude

But if you hire based on speed instead of alignment, you’ll spend more time cleaning up the mess than if you had waited just a few more weeks for the right fit.

What It Means to Hire Slow (Without Paralyzing Growth)

Hiring slow doesn’t mean hiring passively. It means hiring intentionally. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Define the Role With Precision

Don’t recycle an old job description. Define the outcomes this role needs to drive, the metrics that define success, and the key behaviors required.

2. Screen for Culture, Not Just Competence

Skills can be taught. Attitude can’t. Ask values-based interview questions. Look for people who align with your mission, handle feedback well, and bring energy—not ego.

3. Involve Your Team in the Process

Your team will be working with this person. Let them weigh in. Peer interviews reveal red flags leadership might miss.

4. Test Before You Trust

Give candidates a task or scenario to see how they think and communicate. It’s one thing to talk the talk—it’s another to show how they operate under pressure.

5. Trust Your Gut—and Then Validate It

Intuition matters. But back it up with reference checks, assessments, or trial periods. You’re not hiring a resume. You’re hiring a relationship.

Why Leaders Fire Too Slow

Firing is hard. Especially if you’re a leader who values loyalty or believes in second chances. But keeping someone who’s no longer a fit doesn’t help them—or your business.

Leaders delay tough exits because:

• They’re afraid of confrontation

• They don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings

• They hope the person will “figure it out”

• They feel responsible for the person’s financial situation

But here’s the hard truth: keeping the wrong person too long does more harm than letting them go.

What It Means to Fire Smart

Firing smart means:

• Having clear expectations in writing

• Documenting conversations and opportunities for improvement

• Offering support—but not making excuses

• Protecting the rest of the team from prolonged dysfunction

It also means making the call sooner, not later.

The 3-Strikes Rule (and When to Skip It)

I typically coach clients to offer three chances: 1) Awareness, 2) Accountability, 3) Action. But in cases of toxicity, dishonesty, or cultural cancer—you don’t wait. You act. Quickly. Quietly. Cleanly.

Letting Someone Go With Respect

Firing someone doesn’t have to be cold. But it should be clear. You’re not just ending a job—you’re creating space for them to find something that fits. That’s not cruelty. That’s leadership.

Case Study: The Turnaround That Started With a Tough Call

One client I worked with was plateauing hard. Sales were decent, but the team was disengaged. When we looked closer, one of their senior leaders was toxic—undermining decisions, resisting change, and quietly draining morale. The founder had known for months but didn’t want to pull the trigger.

After some coaching, we made the transition swiftly—with documentation, dignity, and transparency to the team. Within 60 days:

• Internal communication improved

• Two junior team members stepped up with bold ideas

• The entire energy of the organization shifted

That company didn’t need a rebrand. It needed a leadership decision.

Final Thoughts: Your Team Is Your Trajectory

The people you hire—and the people you keep—become your culture. Every addition is a seed. Every delay in making a tough call is a signal. Build your team like your future depends on it—because it does.

👉 Book a team strategy session if you’re ready to tighten up hiring, reset your culture, or make smart people decisions with confidence.

Your business doesn’t just need more people.

It needs the right people.