I used to dread my standing call at 11 am.
It was with a sales guy who just…rubbed me the wrong way.
He was brash, abrasive, cocky, and most of all, he made me feel bad about myself.
He would constantly criticise the business and how I was running it.
Despite being years younger than me.
And never having run a business himself.
So why did I put up with it?
I’d like to say because he brought in tens of thousands a month in sales and revenue.
But he didn’t.
It’s because, ultimately, I felt like I would be the failure if I fired him.
Like I was quitting and letting him down.
Stupid now that I think about it.
What I was afraid of, was the awkward conversation.
I was worried about a) what he’d think of me and b) what others would think of me.
And funnily enough, the person who snapped me out of it was my sister-in-law, Rebecca.
My wife’s sister, Rebecca is probably one of my closest friends.
We even have a dog together.
And she calmly explained that on a logical data based approach, this sales guy was costing me time.
But more importantly, I was miserable.
But I felt trapped.
So she asked me “What do you want?”
I had to think.
I wanted to not feel like shit anymore on these calls and I wanted to be free.
