Hey!

Chris here. Welcome to Blueprint—the newsletter to help you build a winning engineering team.

I hate this topic. You should, too, unless you're a sociopath.

But no good founder makes it very long before having to fire someone.

That said, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way: let your emotions drive the process, wing it without preparation, and create legal nightmares for your business.

Let me tell you about my brother Matt's first firing experience, then walk you through the process that actually works. (Don't worry, I have his permission to share this story.)

📒 DEEP DIVE

How to Fire Someone Without Destroying Your Business or Your Soul

No good founder avoids firing people forever. Here's how to approach it with the right mindset and execute it professionally.

Matt's first time firing someone was when they had to let go of a receptionist at his gym. Underperforming, showing up late—all the typical stuff. He had his co-owners as witnesses, which was smart.

Everything else? Complete disaster.

Matt was nervous, had never done this before, and it showed. 

He took too long to get to the point. Then he let her cry in his office for 47 minutes straight. Literally 47 minutes.

"It was the most uncomfortable hour of my life," he told me afterward. "That did not go well."

He called me right after, and I told him the truth: "You completely screwed that whole thing up."

That was 15 years ago. Since then, we've learned what works—and more importantly, how to get your head right before you even start the process.

Getting Your Head Right

Most managers fail at firing because they approach it with the wrong mindset. They see it as this terrible thing they have to do to someone.

Here's what you need to believe—really believe, not just tell yourself:

1) They're probably frustrated, too

If someone can't do their job well, every day at your company is a frustrating one for them. You're not just helping your business—you're helping them find a role where they can actually succeed. Set them free.

2) You're protecting your A-players

Great employees want to work with other great employees. The longer you keep underperformers around, the higher the chance your best people will leave. Every day you delay this decision, you're putting your top talent more at risk.

3) You're denying a superstar their opportunity

Somewhere out there is a person who would be incredible in this role. But you can't hire them because someone who's terrible at the job is currently filling that slot.

When you truly understand these three things, the conversation becomes much calmer. You're not nervous for days beforehand. You can sleep at night becuase you know you're making a decision that helps everyone involved.

The Pre-Work: Documentation and Planning

Once you know it's time, you start documenting everything. Go back through emails, note conversations, and review performance issues. Stick to facts only—no opinions, no subjective commentary.

Just: "This happened, warning was given, behavior didn't change."

Nowadays, you need bulletproof documentation. You can't fire someone just because you don't like them. You need clear, legal reasoning beyond a shadow of doubt.

If they've been underperforming, they should already know it. This should never come as a surprise. You should have had those hard conversations in one-on-ones, put them on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) if necessary, and made it crystal clear where they stand.

Meeting With Mission Control

Before the actual firing, you meet with your core team—what we call "mission control." Not your whole leadership team, just the people who need to know and can be trusted to keep it quiet.

You put a plan in place, literally down to the minute.

We discuss what passwords they have access to, what IP they could damage if they get angry, and what company assets need to be recovered. In our online business, while I'm doing the Zoom call with HR, our CIO is shutting down their email access and removing them from all our systems.

This feels gross—99.9% of people won't retaliate. But you have a fiduciary duty to protect your business and your other employees.

If your leadership team can't keep this confidential, they shouldn't be on the team. Nothing worse than having this leak before it happens.

The Firing

Remember the scene in Moneyball where Billy Beane tells his assistant, "Would you rather get shot in the head or five in the chest and bleed to death?"

That's how you approach this conversation.

You set up the meeting quickly—a couple hours' notice, max. "Can you come to my office at 4:45?" Don't give them days to worry.

When they walk in, here's what you say: "Thank you for being here. I want to let you know we've made the decision to let you go."

That's it. No preamble, no small talk.

Then you cover the basics:

• We're paying you through the next pay period

• Your stuff is packed up (or someone will help you get it)

• Here's what company property needs to be returned

• You'll get an email with all the details

The whole conversation should take about four minutes. If it goes longer, you went too long.

They might ask why, but if you've done your job as a manager, they already know why. Don't get into explanations—that's what the documentation and your attorney are for.

Stay absolutely calm, no matter how they react. I've had everything from "I get it" to crying to "Go F*** yourself." Your job is to be stone cold throughout.

End with: "Thank you for your service. Good luck to you." Stand up, shake their hand, they're out the door.

The Offboarding Process

Within 24 hours, they get an email outlining their exit path. 

If they've been with you for a while or held a senior position, consider a severance package. We typically offer 2-3 months of pay plus continued insurance coverage in exchange for signing a release letter.

The release letter, written by your attorney, protects you from wrongful termination lawsuits and includes NDAs about the firing process. Most people sign it because they need the money, and it's a fair exchange.

We transfer their clients or responsibilities immediately. 

Communicating with Your Team

Your team gets one message, and it's all facts:

"John Smith no longer works here. Jane Doe will be handling his responsibilities while we work to fill this role permanently. If you have questions about ongoing projects, please reach out to Jane."

That's it. No explanations, no details about why. Even if they stole money from the company, the message is the same.

You can add some leadership perspective: "Every time something like this happens, it's an opportunity for our company to get stronger. There's a wonderful person out there who's going to fill this role, and it's going to be a win for everyone."

But never, ever talk badly about the person who left. Let them keep their dignity.

This process works whether someone got fired for performance issues, did something terrible, or you had to do layoffs. The only thing that changes is the messaging.

Layoffs are different—that's "I'm sorry, this is my fault as a leader." Performance firings are "This will be better for everyone involved."

But the mechanics stay the same: quick, calm, factual, dignified.

🎙 EPISODE OF THE WEEK

In this episode of "Build Your Business," Matt and I tackle the silent killer of growth—churn.

We break down why churn is more dangerous than a lack of leads, the real cost of losing clients, and simple strategies to boost retention. Plus, why over-serving beats overselling.

If you're tired of constantly hustling for new business, this episode will help you build a stronger foundation by mastering what you already have.

Check it out: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

BEFORE YOU GO…

If you're reading this and thinking about someone on your team who needs to go, stop putting it off.

I know there are people listening right now who've had someone in their head this entire time.

It's never going to get better. Every day you wait, you're hurting your business, your good employees, and honestly, you're hurting that person too.

Fire them.

Do it right, do it with dignity, but do it.

This is a skill you need to develop as a founder. You need to get to the point where you're not afraid to do it. You might still hate it—that's normal and healthy—but you can't be afraid of it.

The refining process of having hard conversations makes you better at having all hard conversations. And that growth benefits everyone in your life.

Talk soon,

Chris.