In the romantic comedy classic “You’ve Got Mail”, Tom Hanks’ character owns a book selling superstore that puts Meg Ryan’s small bookshop out of business. In response he says “It wasn’t …personal” and implies it was just business. Meg Ryan’s character responds “All that means is it wasn’t personal to you. But it was personal to me…….Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”

So is it business or is it personal?

There are many examples these days where making it personal also makes great business sense. Marketing targeted at my individual interests allows me to be aware of and buy things I have an interest in (too many electronic gadgets according to my wife) and improves those companies’ profitability. Also, good companies realize (and many studies are showing) that creating a culture that promotes highly engaged employees and a personal work environment has a strong correlation with profitability.

Service is becoming increasingly personal as well. As a professional service firm, our primary business is providing accounting, tax and advisory services, but in doing so we want to make a difference in the lives and businesses of the clients we serve. We believe that making it personal is best for our clients, our team’s work satisfaction and for our profitability.

Making business personal is easy when the interests coincide. What if making it personal negatively impacts profitability?

One of the biggest challenges we see in small and mid-sized companies is that many business owners have difficulty terminating poor performing and difficult employees. Owners understand that their business is not reaching its full potential due to these employees but often are unable to follow through with a termination due to the personal nature of the relationship. Often the employee has been with the company for a number of years; the company has evolved but the employee has not kept pace. The business owner knows their family and personal situation and finds it difficult to put the interests of their business over the personal relationship.

What is the best way to deal with these situations? It is often difficult to give constructive feedback. It is more difficult terminating under-performers. By not acting, for the sake of your own convenience, you risk alienating high performing employees who are wondering why you don’t act on the poor performer. In my experience, if the employee is not performing at an acceptable level (after receiving feedback and the chance to improve) or they are not a culture fit, it is not only best for the business (the owner, the business, other employees) but also for the employee that they be let go from the organization.

One of my favourite business books is “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. Not surprisingly, Collins found that businesses that become great, start by having the right people on the bus. “When you need to make a people change, act”, is one of the keys to a successful business. How do you know when you should act? Collins has two great tests. “Would you hire the person again?” and “If the person came to tell you he or she was leaving, would you be disappointed or secretly relieved?”.

Dealing with your people should be highly personal. Avoiding the right decision is never the right answer from a business or personal perspective. Subpar and difficult employees drain the energy from you and your team. It is not only the best business decision but also the best personal decision for you and other employees that the poor performer be given a chance to succeed in another organization.