George Dinwiddie pointed me to this great column, Fired With Enthusiasm.
I have a talk that I've given at a bunch of Software Development conferences, called “Successful Software Management: X Lessons Learned,” where X started at 8, and is now up to 16.
Lesson # 11 is “Fire People Who Can't Do the Work.” I talk about hiring the right people to begin with, to provide feedback (and possibly coaching), and then when you can't make the situation work, to fire them. But I always say, “One of the best ways to fire them is to help them find a job at your competitor.”
I did this once, thinking the person was more culturally suited to succeeding at the other company. A few months later, my counterpart called me and asked, “Did you send me this guy on purpose?” I said that I had, but that I was trying to find a better fit and thought the other manager was more suited to managing him. He laughed and said, “Don't do me any favors anymore.”
Helping people find jobs at your competitors is a sly action. But it might work. And it will certainly get people who can't do the work (and are bringing everyone else down) out of your hair.
(P. S. I wrote about this in Practical Ways to Lead and Serve Others.)
Helping people find jobs at your competitor might have unanticipated consequences. Today’s competitor might be tomorrow’s collaborator, or merger, or your next potential employer.