"Make those cuts"- When Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary opened up about "terminating" employees

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary joined Tyler Mathisen, the CNBC co-anchor, for a brief interview on 10 September 2018. However, his insights from the interview are still relevant. The interview touched on some relevant topics which included fixing the corporate tax regime, nepotism in business, terminating employees from an organization, and more.

Tyler Mathsien asked O'Leary Ventures' founder about his views on how to fire people and how to do it in the right way. Kevin O'Leary who believed that business should be strictly professional and involve less emotional decision-making threw some light on the same. Kevin shared his personal experience and how he tries his best to not hurt the relationship while being professional.

Admitting that it is a "dreadful" deed to terminate an employee, he also accepted that the key to "ending a relationship" is to explain to the person why they were getting terminated. He remarked that it is important to tell them why because they won't learn anything otherwise. He explained that in such situations if he has control, he does it himself.

Shark Tank investor, Kevin further said that recognizing that someone isn't right for their role is crucial; it’s not fair to them or their team to keep them in that position.

"It's the natural Darwinian forces of business and if you don't have the balls to make those cuts and you can't deal with it you're the wrong leader" opined Kevin.

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Here is what Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary does to avoid "bad karma" in business

Shark Tank investor, Kevin O'Leary explained his karma philosophy to Tyler Mathisen and explained how he helps those employees whom he had terminated. To stay away from bad karma, he makes sure that the employee ends up with a satisfactory package along with providing the person with counseling.

Kevin also added that he goes to the extent of helping the person find another great job, just not with him. If an employee is not beneficial to the company, Kevin does not feel the utility to keep the person at the expense of his business growth because it will holistically reflect badly.

In a tweet, in December 2024, O'Leary shared a clip of the interview. He also wrote his rule when firing someone, in the caption. The Shark Tank investor wrote:

"Firing someone is the hardest part of being a leader, but it’s necessary for growth. If they’re not the right fit, you owe it to them—and the team, to act fast."

"Here’s my rule: always be fair, give them a strong exit package, and help them land on their feet. That’s leadership without bad karma."

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Shark Tank US airs on ABC Network.