It caused a bit of a stir (and elicited more than 150 comments) when I wrote in 2012 that, no matter how painful it may be, fast-growth entrepreneurs have to fire the “Brilliant Jerk” if they want to take their companies to the next level. Now we have a surprising postscript to add: what happens when the business owner decides to rehire the Brilliant Jerk.
After we published my original post, a chief executive called me and said, “I know you have been stung with a lot of criticism on your blog, but you have changed my life.