All entrepreneurs struggle to pull ourselves away from the startup roles we played -- which included doing everything -- to position ourselves as a real leader. We didn't learn the details of the recruiting and hiring process of the person they fired but we can imagine that they thought they were making a good decision.

The number one task leaders procrastinate on is firing. We think the reason is two-fold. First, not one of us wants to hurt the person we have hired. And second, we don't want to admit that we made a mistake. If we just keep trying to work with the new person, maybe they will come along and be the person we dreamed they would be. Most of us are optimists! This means we believe what a person told us in the interview process. We place the halo on the potential employee and have great hopes that they will be our next star.

Topic for Discussion: What made the firing go well enough that Miles and David felt good when it was over?

Answer: They admitted that they had made the mistake and they paid the person a nice chunk of cash. Miles then gave us all one of the best pieces of advice we have ever heard. He said, if you don't face up to a bad hire you, "spend all of your life managing the problem, rather than managing the opportunity."

You think about it: Does anyone need to be fired from your organization? If you know this, why haven't you done it?