How one CEO got rid of a Slacker

Tired of paying people that aren’t doing their job? Here’s the story of what one newly hired CEO did to rid his company of slackers.

As the newly appointed CEO of a financially struggling corporation, he knew he had a tough road ahead of him. It was part of what attracted him to the job. He loved a challenge. He’d made that quite clear at his interviews. He had a vision and a well laid-out plan of how he would get the company back up on its feet; and his first order of business would be to remove anyone who wasn’t pulling their weight.

After settling in to his new office and meeting with his administrative team, he decided it was time to start implementing his plan. He would tour the factory and try to get a feel for who and what turned the company’s wheels. He would also find out who slowed the wheels down. Room by room, he smiled and shook hands with the workers who played such a vital role to the success of the company. He knew that the bottom of the corporate pyramid had to be strong. Any missing pieces at the bottom would only contribute to the weakness of the company’s overall financial strength.

As he walked through the last room, he made mental notes. Who was working? What were they doing? Who was in charge? Were they meeting their goals? Near the end of his tour, he noticed a group of men standing by the door. As his eyes met theirs, he noticed how quickly they scattered; with the exception of one man.  As he walked towards him, he noticed that the other men, now back at their workbenches were still watching him. Yes, it’s time to make my “get rid of the dead weight plan” clear. Loud and clear. “Hey, tell me something”, he asked the slacker. “How much money do make each week?” Looking surprised by the question, he answered “Me? I make $400 a week. Why?” Reaching in to his pocket, he pulled out a folded wad of bills and said, “Here’s $1,600. That’s four weeks pay. Pack up your stuff and find another place to lean on a wall”. 

Within two minutes, he’d removed one weak link in the chain. $1600 was worth the price of getting his message across. If they want a job here, they have to work for it. There would be no more slackers. There would be no more wasted money. As he heard the door close behind the wall-leaner, he turned towards the room full of surprised faces. “Ok, now who wants to tell me what that goof-ball did here?”  A single voice called out from the room. “I know. He’s the guy who brings us pizza every week.” :)

The moral of this story - I’ll let you decide.