John looked from his computer to the sullen face of Hitler and smiled. He had posted the photo in his cubicle weeks ago and it still gave him pleasure.

In his right-hand middle drawer John kept a gun. It was not your ordinary pistol, rather, a P.08 German Luger. It was a beautiful pistol, and he loved to stroke it, feel its long sleek lines. This was a gun with history. It had been used in two World Wars. It demanded respect. Best of all – it was his.

Replacing it with the care of a mother with her newborn, he covered it gently with a cloth. It would not do for someone to see it.

Randall Pearson was frustrated. John’s performance was not improving. In fact, it was degrading. Randall shook his head as he thought about the last several months. How many times had he been angry about John’s mistakes? Randall had spoken with John last year and told him he was tired of the mistakes and the attitude over the past two years. John said he was sorry and would do better.

Who knew whether John was sorry, or whether he had any intention of doing better. What Randall did know was that John’s performance problems had not resolved and now it was time to take discipline to the next level. John needed to be gone.

Randall walked to John’s office. “John, I’d like to meet with you tomorrow, say 9:00 o’clock. Will that work?”, his voice was laced with frustration and his body language spoke volumes. John read every bit of it. “Sure, 9:00 o’clock”.

Stomping from John’s office, Randall made his way back to his own office and began the unsavory task of calling Human Resources. “I need to talk about an employee”, he barked, “do you have time now?”. Randall put the phone down and took a deep breath.

He recognized Jessica Perez’ footfall. The tapping heels played an uneven cadence brought on by her recent skiing injury. Jessica moved into Randall’s office from the hallway, “how can I help you, Randall?” Another deep breath, and he shared the past several years of John’s poor performance and attitude and punctuated his words with a slight hiss.

Although there seemed little reason to ask, Jessica asked anyway, “Why have you never written him up? Why do you want to act now?” Randall looked down. “I guess today is the day I’ve finally had enough, and I’m angry. Don’t tell me I can’t fire him. Don’t tell me it will take a file full of “documentation”, Randall pleaded. Jessica sighed, “how about one actual written warning and then we’ll go forward.” Randall nodded, “I have tomorrow scheduled”.


Tomorrow took its time coming. 7:30 a.m., John did not appear, as he had without fail for the past 3 years. It was tough to decide which emotion to feel, anger because John was late, or relief because Jeremy, the company’s IT guru, had time to disable John’s computer access to company data.

Jeremy,sat down at John’s desk and looked up. Hitler’s unsmiling face was staring back. He picked up his cell phone, “Jessica, you need to come to John’s desk…”.

Jessica stared at the photograph, her eyes moving downward to the swastika then to the variety of pistols. It was a gallery of sorts. A chill crossed her back.

First, Jessica took several deep breaths and called the only person who could help her deep sense of foreboding. Josh, her friend and a police officer answered on the first ring.. She told him what she found and what the situation was. “Do you have a photograph of him?”, he asked Jessica. She told him she did. “Make copies, enlarge them, and post them at every entry except the front door. Print on each that this person is no longer an employee of the company and no one is to let him in. A police officer will be over within 15 minutes.”

“I should have known.”, Randall whispered. “I should have done something when I first suspected he might have problems. There were things he said and did…I just didn’t want to deal with it. I didn’t have time for the process of firing him.” Jessica looked up. “What kind of things?” “Oh, .he had a short fuse. I always had to walk softly with him. I always felt he was ready to pop. What I really hesitate to say is that this doesn’t really surprise me.” Jessica fingered one of the books found in John’s office and simply said, “lesson learned”.

The police officers (there were two), walked in. Within two minutes Jessica, Randall and the police officers were planning for John’s arrival. The lobby was electric with fearful anticipation.

At 9:00 a.m., Jessica picked up her phone. She read “Call unknown”. “This is Jessica”. “This is John. Have you called the police yet?” Jessica didn’t have time to answer. “I won’t be in. Don’t worry, I won’t make trouble. Just make sure I get all my belongings…including the photographs. He could’ve just told me how serious this all was, He told me once. I didn’t think it was all that bad. But then out of nowhere he tells me he wants a meeting. Duh. Who did he think he was fooling? He was going to fire me! I don’t need that kind of s#*@, so I won’t be back. Don’t worry Jessica, I won’t come back with that Luger.” Jessica let her breath out quietly. She preferred to believe him. “John, we will take care to pack all your things carefully, we will prepare your check and have it all delivered to you by the end of the day. Thank you for your kindness in calling and sharing with me not only that you won’t return to work, but how you felt about Randall’s communication with you about your performance. Is there anything else we can do to make this transition easier for you?” The silence hung for a few seconds before John answered, “No, nothing. I think Randall has done it all. Thank you for packing things and I appreciate you getting my check to me. Well, that’s it. I’ll sleep in tomorrow.” He was gone, conversation done.

The company kept a security presence for two weeks. Nothing more happened.

This scenario cost the company plenty. It cost in time lost for Randall and Jessica. It cost for extra security for two weeks. It cost for recruiting, interviewing, vetting hiring and onboarding. It cost in the stress employees no doubt felt. It might have been avoided.

Randall should have been providing John feedback consistently and honestly. He should have started a formal performance management process which would have led to improved performance, or termination. Perhaps his intervention could have turned the tide for John. Perhaps he could have gotten additional training, and information for counseling from Jessica, and sat down with Randall to level with him about his feelings, concerns, problems. Perhaps nothing would have changed this story – but stepping in early and trying to encourage change is a must. John was not treated fairly, regardless of how he chose to react to his circumstance.

THE LESSON: Treat everyone with respect. Give employees the opportunity to hear what you see as problems with his/her performance and/or behavior. Ask them for their feedback on how they see the situation. Discuss the differences. Set goals and consequences for meeting or not meeting those goals. Document. Document. Document! When an employee makes the requested changes, acknowledge it with positive feedback. Document! Let us become part of the solution, not the reason the problem grows to failure.