I worked with a startup a few years back where the CEO would get upset and talk about firing people. The first couple of times, I'm sure, he got great results.

I worked with a startup a few years back where the CEO would get upset and talk about firing people. The first couple of times, I'm sure, he got great results. And he actually pulled the trigger and fired some people. But this went on for months. Once you start threatening to fire people? You've got nowhere to escalate past that. You're done. People just throw away any sense of civility and hang in as long as they think they can get a check out of you. Talk about ways to destroy your company morale. You should always fire quickly, gently, privately, and with kindness. You should never fire publicly and harshly. And you should never drag out firing somebody because you're too chicken to get the job done. You want to play the role of hard-as-nails company leader? Fine. People remember that stuff. You want to be a billionaire prick, good for you. But I'll never work for you. Life's too short.