Our VP of Business Development brings in forty percent of our new revenue, but he routinely treats our operations team with contempt, violating our core value of mutual respect. The leadership team is terrified of firing him because of the financial hit. How do we handle this Wrong Person, Right Seat dilemma?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A high-performing leader who violates your core values is a toxic asset. This is a classic Wrong Person, Right Seat dilemma, and keeping them on your leadership team is a slow poison. It tells your entire organization that performance matters more than your culture, completely undermining your core values.

You must address this issue directly using the People Analyzer™. Sit down with your VP of Business Development and review your core values. Give them specific, objective examples of where their behavior has fallen short of your cultural standards, such as treating the operations team with contempt.

Set a strict thirty-day timeline for behavioral change. They must understand that keeping their seat requires both hitting their numbers and living your values. If they are unwilling or unable to make this shift, you must transition them out of the company, regardless of the revenue they bring in.

In almost every case where an owner finally fires a toxic high performer, the rest of the team experiences a massive boost in morale and productivity. The operational friction disappears, and other team members step up to fill the revenue gap. Protect your culture at all costs; a business with a compromised culture will never achieve a clean, high-value exit.