He claims that he was taken out of context when Mitt Romney said “I like to fire people”.   Fair is fair and I decided to listen to the actual quote, in full context.  What Mitt said was “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me and I if am not getting good service, I want to say, I’m going to get someone else.” Okay, so Mitt likes to fire people who are not providing him with what he wants.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I will assume that Mitt would equally like being able to fire employees who are not giving him enough profit so he is going to hire someone else.

This leaves me with a question.

Is there any context where I like to fire people is an admirable position or preferred action?

Personally, I’ve had to fire people.  I managed a large restaurant and I ran a small business.  Each time there were instances where I had to fire people.  Sometimes it was because business was off, sometimes the employee was simply not up to the task, and sometimes it was for serious violations like stealing.  I can tell you that in every case with no exception, I never liked firing people.

Part of me always deeply regretted it when I fired someone, even when they had fair warning and there was no other choice.  Part of me knew that this was still a human being, with feelings, and financial obligations.  They were now wounded and I wielded the sword.  A dear friend of mine manages a large number of employees and has done so for many years.  He is known as a real hard case, a pain in the ass, and worse.  The truth is that he’s in a tough business and has to run a tight ship.  And the truth is that when he has to fire someone, as he puts it, “It really hurts, and I can’t show it, but it takes a long time to recover from the knowledge that you just were a part of someone’s tragedy”.  He and I agreed that when you fire someone, that person failed but you too failed because part of your job as a manager and a human being is to help other succeed.

But Mitt?  Mitt likes to fire people.  Put that in any context you wish and try to tell me it’s an admirable statement or a desirable position to be in and I will tell you that you have no sense of humanity, no empathy, and your self serving ego is blinding you to the pain you are inflicting on others.

Mitt, if you are reading this, here is a bit of advice.  Work at what you truly love, making money. Leave the presidency to someone who values human beings more than quarterly profits.