Slow down

I have watched young managers struggle with situations, as I have, whereby they hear one side of a story that paints a picture of a deed that an employee committed that would necessitate serious disciplinary action. They act in haste meting out the punishment prior to hearing the other side of the story and/or slowing down to think everything through. This impulsive reaction to a problem nearly always causes them grief in the form of making a wrong decision based upon too little information and then having to apologize. Often the problem is compounded because they will chew someone out in front of several people and then apologize in private. To the recipient of one of these episodes, it will not easily, if ever, be forgotten or forgiven.
Sometimes a good employee will be ruined from an experience like this.

As more and more gray hair pops out on my head, I have learned the hard way to always try to obtain both sides of the story before making a decision. This is admittedly hard to do, because some situations cost the company tremendous grief and money. Just remember there will be plenty of time to mete out discipline after the facts are gathered. The same philosophy holds true in our private lives and dealing with disputes among family and friends. Slow down a little and think things through before making an idiot out of yourself. As usual the Bible says it better:

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Proverbs 14:29
He who is slow to wrath has
great understanding,
But he who is impulsive exalts
folly.


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