When the Problem Isn’t the Person

I was at a Santa Monica Chamber event recently, meeting people for the first time, when

someone said, half-jokingly, “Oh — you’re the guy they bring in to fire people.”

I hear some version of that more often than you’d expect.

I usually answer the same way. Sometimes people do get let go. But that’s rarely why I’m

brought in. There’s one story I think about a lot when this comes up.

A business owner once told me he wanted me to fire a senior employee. He was decisive about it. His reasoning was that she didn’t have the “killer instinct” he believed the business needed.

Before doing anything, I asked to meet her.

What I found didn’t match the narrative at all. She was committed, thoughtful, and deeply

invested in the company. She cared about the clients. She cared about her teammates. She spent a lot of energy trying to help other people succeed.

She wasn’t checked out. She wasn’t dragging the business down. She just wasn’t built for the role she was in.

So instead of firing her, we tried something different.

We created a new role — Director of Client Services — and gave her real ownership over how clients were supported across the organization.

She became someone other people leaned on. The quality of client conversations improved Internal tension dropped. The business got stronger and she flourished.

She didn’t need to be removed. She needed to be trusted in the right way.

Later that night at the Chamber event, someone asked me, “Don’t employees get nervous when you come in?”

At first, sure. That’s natural.

But it fades quickly. Because people usually realize I’m not there to swing a hammer. I’m there to listen, ask questions, and help the business make better use of the people it already has.

I’m not brought in to fire people.

I’m brought in to help leaders slow down long enough to see what’s actually going on.