Choose Excellence

We used to tolerate mediocre performers. We told ourselves we were being fair, giving people time to grow, being good managers.

We were wrong.

The moment we removed mediocrity from the team, everything changed. Work started flying. Not just the day-to-day tasks—we suddenly had bandwidth to build infrastructure, systems that would support us for years. That kind of forward-thinking work was impossible before. Mediocre performers don't just slow down their own lane. They clog the entire highway.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: you're going to choose a side whether you want to or not. You can be nice to the mediocre performers, or you can be nice to your top performers. You cannot do both. They're mutually exclusive. And neither group will be happy about the other.

We choose excellence.

This doesn't mean firing irresponsibly. It means recognizing when someone isn't a fit and acting on it quickly. Every week you delay, you're taxing your best people. You're telling them that standards are negotiable. That their extra effort subsidizes someone else's coasting.

Your top performers notice everything. They notice who pulls weight and who doesn't. They notice when you tolerate what they wouldn't. And eventually, they leave—not the underperformers, but the ones you actually needed.

Work should be energizing. So work with energized people.

Fire fast. Choose your side. Build with people who want to build.

"You'll choose a side eventually. Choose before your top performers choose for you."