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Home / Leadership / Especially Now: Play nice!
Especially Now: Play nice!

Especially Now: Play nice!

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May 26, 2020 By Dave Berkus

To survive this nasty Covid-19 surge facing businesses of all types, leaders must make decisions that hurt but are necessary.  Keep the employees for the SBA PPP requirements regarding loan forgiveness, or furlough or let good employees go, so they can file unemployment claims?  And what about termination decisions you make affecting just the few you wanted to eliminate anyway?

I am reminded of the term, “Play Nice!” when thinking about and planning for this possible reduction in staff for survival.

What did Mom say when we were kids?

When you were a kid, surely at one time or another, Mom reminded you to “play nice” when you got a bit rambunctious with your friends.   I was reminded about this by Mark Wayman, a friend and reader, who applied this statement to his recruiting environment. He called out those people who focus upon executives who burned bridges with threats and lawsuits, instead of just picking up their toys and moving on after a bad business breakup.

My reminder to departing employees

Over the years, I have reminded departing employees in their exit interview that we should always, always both take the high ground and speak well of each other, since we never know when we will meet again under entirely different circumstances.  And indeed, former employees (not necessarily disaffected or threatening in their departure) have shown up regularly as suppliers and customers in various companies in subsequent months and years.

There is no immediate gain in threats to an employee or by an employee. 

But there certainly is an immediate loss of respect and the start of a series of events that sometimes cannot be stopped.  A threat of a lawsuit results in that person being immediately isolated and sometimes removed – if the employer believes there is enough evidence of misconduct or poor performance in the file to justify immediate termination.

Placing blame after the fact

Short of threats, bad-mouthing a former employer or employee is the worst possible behavior when considering the effect upon the corporate culture if the offender is the employer, and upon the person making the claim if by a former employee.  The point is that no one wins in this kind of word war.  And if it ever gets to a lawsuit, both parties lose a second time as the lawyers take control and costs escalate out of control.

Remember Mom’s advice

Mom’s advice is almost always right – for business as well as for personal relationships.  Never strike out at anyone before first cooling off and thinking about the relative worth of the effort against the long-term gain or loss.  The resulting effort will be surely muted and couched in a way that you’ll avoid retribution.

Filed Under: Leadership, Open Culture Tagged With: Human Resources, Relationships

Source: Berkonomics

Dave Berkus

Dave Berkus

Dave Berkus is a noted speaker, author and early stage private equity investor. He is acknowledged as one of the most active angel investors in the country, having made and actively participated in over 87 technology investments during the past decade. He currently manages two angel VC funds (Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC and Kodiak Ventures, L.P.) Dave is past Chairman of the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel networks in the United States. Dave is author of “Basic Berkonomics,” “Berkonomics,” “Advanced Berkonomics,” “Extending the Runway,” and the Small Business Success Collection. Find out more at Berkus.com or contact Dave at dberkus@berkus.com

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