We have a top sales producer who generates substantial revenue but clearly fails one of our Core Values on the People Analyzer. How do we use the Three-Strike Rule to handle this without derailing our quarterly numbers?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Every business owner eventually faces the high-producing cultural terrorist. They hit their revenue targets, but they treat peers poorly, disregard operational processes, or cut corners that violate company standards. Tolerating this person destroys company morale and signals to the rest of your organization that Core Values are merely decorative slogans.

In EOS, we run team members through the People Analyzer to evaluate whether they exhibit Core Values and whether they GWC their seat: Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do it.

If someone is below the bar on a Core Value, you apply the Three-Strike Rule. You do not fire them abruptly, nor do you ignore the problem.

Strike one is an honest, private conversation. Show them the People Analyzer and give specific, concrete examples where their behavior failed the standard. Explain why it matters and clearly define what acceptable behavior looks like. Give them thirty days to correct the pattern.

Strike two occurs thirty days later if the behavior persists. You deliver a formal warning stating that their performance or cultural fit is unacceptable and that failure to change within thirty more days will result in termination.

Strike three arrives at day sixty. If they have not made a permanent behavioral shift, you part ways cleanly.

Owners worry that cutting a high producer will sink their revenue. In practice, the opposite occurs. Removing a toxic high performer liberates the rest of your team, restores trust in leadership, and opens up capacity for accountable team members to step up and exceed previous output.