The Keeper Test: Elite Team Pruning

THE BRUTAL REALITY: LOYALTY IS A LIABILITY

Many founders pride themselves on "never firing anyone." This is not a virtue; it is a sign of a weak culture.

The Conflict: You want your company to feel like a "family."

The Truth: Families don't fire their children for being mediocre. A business is a high-performance sports team. If a player isn't performing, they belong on the bench or another team.

The Fix: Use the "Keeper Test." If a team member said they were leaving tomorrow, would you fight to keep them? If the answer is "No," let them go today.

1. THE SEVERANCE SHIELD

Don't be a coward. When you fire someone, give them a generous severance package. It’s the "Peace Tax" you pay to keep your culture clean and avoid legal drama. It’s cheaper than keeping a B-player for another year.

2. HIRE FOR TALENT, FIRE FOR ATTITUDE

You can train a skill, but you can't train a soul. One "brilliant jerk" or "lazy complainer" will infect the entire team. Cut the cancer out early, no matter how "talented" they are.

SMART WORDS

THE KEEPER TEST

The "Retention Filter." The mental exercise of deciding if you would fight to keep an employee if they resigned today.

B-PLAYER SPREAD

The phenomenon where keeping one mediocre person makes your A-players feel like their hard work is being devalued.

CULTURE ADD VS FIT

The shift from hiring people who "blend in" to hiring people who bring a missing, high-performance edge to the team.

TACTICAL DIRECTIVES

1. The Quarterly Audit: Run the "Keeper Test" on every single employee this Friday.

2. The Honest Conversation: For anyone who fails the test, give them 30 days to become "keepers" or prepare for exit.

3. Generous Exit: Budget for a "Severance Fund" so you never hesitate to make the right call for the team.