All of us have hired talent with high expectations but found they were nothing like they seemed to be. Some people interview well, give good answers and fool us.

They become boat anchors holding everybody back. Jack Welch demanded his managers at GE fire the bottom 10% of producers. No arguments. Just go.

Our friend Ruth King says letting them go improves morale. Your staff wonders why you took so long to do it.

But what will you do about replacing them? Lets be candid. You should be able to step in and do their work if needed.

You don’t know how to do their work? You should have thought of that long ago. You should know how to do every job your employees do. And you should relentlessly scout for talent. It will take less time to find the

It will take less time to find the right person if you have applicants on file or at least in mind. Work your network, too.

You cannot let your employees hold you hostage.

Ruth says you must never think, “I can’t afford to lose that employee, manager or salesperson.” If they’re boat anchors, you must fire them. No arguments. Just go.

We share such field-tested ideas and strategies in our book “Million Dollar Strategies of Maverick Entrepreneurs.” For your copy, email JerryBellune@yahoo.com.