August 21st Was a Bad Day

Tuesday, August 21st, was a bad day. Why? It wasn't the stock market, it wasn't my aching neck. It wasn't even my preoccupation with our government's miserable tax system. No, today I had to fire someone.

The individual didn't lie, cheat, or steal anything. Nor did the individual violate any of what few rules we have in our small business. So, why did this person get fired?

Our industry is constantly changing. It's not important what industry we are in, because they are all changing. And the business I manage is not keeping up with the change. Is that the fault of the person I fired today? The part the employee was responsible for was the growth portion of our industry, so I guess you could say this person was given the opportunity to grow sales while other aspects of the business were declining. However, my job was to give this person the chance of winning in a competitive market. I did not do that.

I can write another thousand words explaining the woes of being in a small business and how the rules are slanted in favor of the "big guys", but the bottom line is we did not find our niche in an important segment of our industry.

So, what do I do next? First, I'm going to lunch and today I am going to live on the edge and have a beer. While I'm enjoying it, I am going to thank God that I live in the U.S.A., have a lovely wife who loves me, have three fabulous sons who just amaze me daily, and smile at the vision of my beautiful new daughter-in-law holding her newborn twins.

I guess today isn't so bad after all. As a matter of fact, it's pretty wonderful.