Our friend Rob runs his own family-owned business, and it’s been thriving for a couple of decades now. His brother Reed had been laid off, so Rob hired him to work at his company, putting him in charge of marketing. Reed tried, but somehow he just wasn’t giving the hours, commitment, time, or other responsibilities that went with his position. Rob didn’t know what to do with him! Sure, Reed did the job Rob had hired him for, but not as effectively as he could have. Still, Reed was a great guy with good intentions, so Rob let his emotional attachment convince him to keep Reed where he was. It even occurred to Rob that Reed might think he was entitled to the job simply because he was family! But Rob knew he shouldn’t have gotten into that situation to begin with, and he was becoming increasingly frustrated.

Rob finally admitted to himself that although he and Reed were close, from a business standpoint Reed just wasn’t a good fit for this job. Painful as it would be to let him go, Rob knew he’d be doing himself and Reed (and the company) a favor in the long run; Reed would be free to find a job suited to his talents, and Rob would free himself from guilt and find an employee who’d be a better fit. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise: when the brothers finally discussed the situation, Reed sheepishly admitted he’d been secretly miserable in the job for some time, and he hadn’t wanted to admit he was unhappy there because he’d wanted to spare Rob’s feelings! They had a good laugh about it, and Reed eventually found a job he loved elsewhere.

Rob and Reed learned that it’s not always easy to tell whether you’re walking away from opportunities prematurely, or whether your gut is right in telling you it’s time to call it quits before you get in too deep. Some opportunities aren’t worth pursuing; they’re just not a good fit with that individual, or that market opportunity just isn’t there to begin with. Maybe the real key here is being able to confront the tough stuff; sometimes walking away really is the best option.