I was wrong.
I loved watching syndicated reruns of Happy Days after school. The Fonz had the cool motorcycle, the girls, the leather jacket. But there was one thing he couldn’t say: “I was wrr… I was wron…” He never could get it out.
I’ve got plenty of issues, but admitting when I’ve blown it isn’t one of them. I missed it when I blogged about the Patriots trading Randy Moss. I believe everything I wrote. Top-performers can be selfish prima donnas. There are very few true A-player new business developers – rainmakers – who deliver the goods time and time again. Many are high-maintenance and a royal pain. As sales leaders, I believe it’s our job to bring in results and our responsibility to manage top talent, even when it’s difficult.
Word is out today that Randy Moss has been been released by the Vikings. He barely survived a month there. Obviously, he’s a bad apple. His presence and conduct were detrimental to the health of the team. He was disrespectful and critical of his coach in public. Moss has the mouth of rebellious teenager and the filter of 4 year-old throwing a tantrum. They’ve got enough trouble in Minnesota and they didn’t need any more.
I respect the leadership of the Vikings for tossing him out. They made a mistake and instead of trying to save face and pretending everything was OK, they made the bold move and reversed course. I like that.
I was wrong about the Patriots trading Moss and I’m eating some humble pie today. The Pats are 6-1 atop the AFC East and Mr. Moss is a man without a town (or team). What do I know? 🙂 I appreciate those of you who had a different perspective. Thanks for commenting on my original post and I point you to sales guru and blogger Jim Keenan’s post from last month.
My takeaways:
- Hire slow, fire fast. Preaching it is easier than doing it.
- When you know you made a mistake, fix it – now.
- Even the best player can’t be bigger than the team.
- Admit it when you were wrong.
- Keep moving forward.
