Kimchi problems
Kimchi problems, a term coined by venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, are ‘problems that get hotter the deeper you bury them, until they burn down the organization.’ These are problems that you know exist, but you avoid confronting them because they might hurt someone's feelings, or it might be too much work.
Anybody that has ever let go an employee that wasn’t the right fit knows the feeling. It’s a difficult conversation, but you usually don’t think ‘I fired them too fast.’ No, you think the exact opposite: ‘Wow, I really should have done that a lot sooner.’
Ben’s advice to deal with the Kimchi problem:
Separate the person from the problem
Diagnose the root cause of the problem -- what happened?
This is good advice, but considering how much we procrastinate and how busy we are, you may never find the headspace to take action...until it's too late. So, I’d add one more: isolate yourself for at least one day. Be somewhere where you can think, by yourself. Do this every month.
Several weeks ago I finally said goodbye to a freelancer. It was a relief. The tipping point? Inescapable silence. On my 11 hour flight to Tokyo, the wifi connection was simply too shitty to use on the plane. I found myself alone, no longer able to distract myself from the truth. My once fuzzy thoughts and concerns turned into a crystal-clear message: fire him. I gave it six hours. Same message. Okay, then. The decision has been made. (note: I also journaled w/ a pen and pad about this on the plane for a couple of hours, which helped clarify even more)
Actually, I’d really decided weeks ago, but I kept making excuses: he was affordable, he provided a good perspective (once or twice...), he’s just rough around the edges, things will get better (even though no one can get along with him). The list goes on. When you find yourself trying to convince yourself, you may just be fooling yourself. But once I had some real quiet space, it could no longer be avoided.
I’m not talking about days of silent meditation. Just a bit of stillness, silence, solitude. It could be on an airplane, a long hike, the park, at a cafe, at a hot spring, a two-day sabbatical from technology. Find some silence. Listen to what it tells you, and then follow your gut.