When you prune a tree, you remove the dead or diseased parts so the whole tree will grow and thrive. If you don’t prune the tree, the whole tree is at risk of dying.

The same is true with businesses.

When I was 10 years old, I went on my first sleepover to my Irish Catholic friend’s house. Approaching the carport, I heard a commotion and was shocked to see the whole family of ten gathered, watching their two youngest kids in an all-out fist fight, and Mom and Dad making bets with the others on the outcome!

Do you have accountability issues in your company? If you said "No," you're in the minority. Accountability is usually one of the biggest issues that hold organizations back. However, people talk about a lack of accountability and yet I find that many don't really know what is meant by the word. Let me see if I can help.

In the movie The Martian, Mark Watney, finding himself stranded 140 million miles from earth (and 4 years from rescue), sums up his situation like this:

"If the oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the hab breaches, I'll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So, yeah. I'm &#$%!@.”

We’ve all heard the phrase “Hire slowly and Fire fast,” but most companies do the exact opposite. We're quick to hire people because we have a need and we want someone in that seat, now! When people aren’t working out though, we kick the can down the road. Fingers crossed, we plod forward trying to grow our companies with the wrong people.