4. Do not avoid hard conversations – I’d like to see myself as a people person. And because of that, I hate to offend people. The first resignation I had broke my heart. I love my people and I hate to see them leave.

But — what if you have guys who are incompetent, comes in early — for lunch, proud and unteachable? Should you stick? Should you avoid being offensive? The quick answer is – no. Be the boss that you are and make that hard conversation. Fire him if it’s needed. That’s easier said than done, though. After 7 years, I’m still working on that.

Those are just a few. I’ll try to add some more in the coming days. I hope you learned something from my mistakes.