Firing People

People don’t talk about getting fired. We come up with euphemisms: “I’m funemployed!”, or “I’m looking for my next journey!” That’s strange, when you think about it, given that it’s a fairly normal event that happens from time to time. But mostly it’s tragic, because unless we start talking about firing and getting fired, we can’t begin to start improving this very real — and often very painful — process.

Transcript

1. F I R I N G P E O P L E
   

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4. dammit that said nothing, holman
   

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6. fire fast!
   “ ”
   

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7. everybody has stories
   

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8. ?
   

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10. !
    

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11. parallels with quitting
    

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13. Y O U
    

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14. E M P L O Y E R
    

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15. C O W O R K E R
    

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16. BACKSTORY
    

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17. @holman
    

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18. GitHub
    2010-2015
    

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19. this talk’s about
    my story
    

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21. LEAD-UP
    

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22. burnout
    

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23. sabbatical
    DEC 2014 — FEB 2015
    Ɍ
    

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24. sabbatical
    My preference would be
    for you to stay at GitHub
    “
    DEC 2014
    

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25. sabbatical
    When you came back
    would be totally up to you
    “
    DEC 2014
    

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26. sabbatical
    Before agreeing to your
    return […] we need to chat
    through some things
    “
    FEB 2015
    

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27. Y O U
    

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28. Y O U
    read the clues
    

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29. Y O U
    ha, yeah that’s
    when they started
    to fire you
    “
    

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30. conversation
    with my manager
    

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31. conversation
    with my manager
    uh, plus someone in hr
    

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32. conversation
    immediately became confrontational
    

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33. hr complaint
    filed formal
    

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34. Y O U
    

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35. Y O U
    avoid hr
    

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36. Y O U
    hr exists to protect
    the company, not you
    

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37. E M P L O Y E R
    avoid surprises
    

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38. E M P L O Y E R
    

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39. E M P L O Y E R
    pip
    performance improvement plan
    

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40. flew to sf
    to meet that friday
    

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41. FIRED
    

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42. you’re not going
    to be happy here
    “
    

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43. Y O U
    

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44. Y O U
    chill.
    

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45. tall poppy
    syndrome
    

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46. E M P L O Y E R
    lockdown
    

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47. E M P L O Y E R
    roll creds
    and automate it
    

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48. E M P L O Y E R
    understand
    implications
    

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49. E M P L O Y E R
    understand
    implications
    (real-world)
    

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50. E M P L O Y E R
    refine
    workflow
    

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52. C O W O R K E R
    determine
    the rationale
    

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53. C O W O R K E R
    gossip
    

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54. E M P L O Y E R
    truthful
    be
    internally
    

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55. E M P L O Y E R
    mutually agreed
    “ ”
    

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56. E M P L O Y E R
    lying
    poisons
    the well
    

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57. E M P L O Y E R
    group firing
    

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58. AFTER
    

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66. The weird part is how much this is about
    me. This is happening to me right now. I
    didn't really expect it to feel so intimate,
    a kind of whoa, this is my experience
    right now and nobody else's.
    “
    

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67. down
    

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70. LOOSE ENDS
    

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71. it takes an
    awful amount
    of work
    to stop work
    

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72. immediate
    logistics
    

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73. healthcare
    (for loser americans)
    

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74. severance
    

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75. 90 day window
    

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76. 28 hours
    

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77. Y O U
    writing
    get things in
    

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78. Y O U
    stay on-the-record
    

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79. Y O U
    know a good:
    lawyer · accountant · financial advisor
    

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80. LIFE AFTER
    

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81. friends
    

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82. friends
    don’t last
    

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83. C O W O R K E R
    stay in touch
    it’s cool to
    

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84. C O W O R K E R
    on you
    it’s also kinda
    

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85. C O W O R K E R
    gossipis tedious
    

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86. alumni
    

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87. alumni
    continue the culture
    

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88. alumni
    continue the culture
    

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89. alumni
    continue the culture
    

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90. alumni
    continue the culture
    

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91. E M P L O Y E R
    alumni
    cultivate your
    

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92. E M P L O Y E R
    communication
    have a direct point of
    

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93. E M P L O Y E R
    recruiters
    former employees as
    

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95. @HOLMAN
    

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