The brilliant jerk will sabotage a growing company. When the company is no longer relying on their expertise the jerk needs to supplement the adrenaline rush o

The brilliant jerk will sabotage a growing company. When the company is no longer relying on their expertise the jerk needs to supplement the adrenaline rush of being important, so they create drama around the new people you have brought on board, justified or not. That is the case for firing them. It is something of a 'coming of age' for a startup when amazing employees can't handle the growth outside of the garage. If the jerk is not sabotaging the growth then by all means, give them new challenges that are crucial to the company.. but perhaps you don't actually have a brilliant jerk problem. You have a brilliant employee who can learn to change and grow with the company. That is not what the article is describing.