Depending on when you’re reading this, I’m either looking forward to seeing you at the April Live Quarterly Meeting from April 24 through 26, or else, it was great seeing you at the April Live Quarterly Meeting from April 24 through 26.
–RJon
MEMBERS PAYING IT FORWARD
Tolerated Behavior GoneToo Far Avoiding the Hard Conversation Costs More Than You Think
I waited three years to fire my first employee. Looking back, I tolerated their toxic behavior for too long. And that cost me more than anything else in my firm.
I’ll take you back to the beginning.
I worked for a software company in the Bay Area for a year before deciding to do something completely different. I quit, bought a one-way ticket to Italy, and started teaching English. But I wanted a bigger challenge.
So, I started two businesses: an English school in Italy and a website that helped people with Italian ancestry become Italian citizens. That’s where I realized I really enjoyed helping people figure out complicated parts of the law.
After ending those businesses, I knew I wanted to represent people who didn’t have a voice. So, I returned to California for law school, loved it, and even met my wife there.
Fast forward a little, and in 2016, I started Tenant Law Group. I hired my first employee later that year and grew my team. I wanted to build an environment where people could realize all their goals, and the relationship would benefit everyone. But that’s not what happened.
By 2019, team members were doing whatever they wanted. No one took it seriously, time off was out of hand, and the quality of what we were doing fell. I wasn’t holding anyone accountable.
I realized my firm was going to implode unless I made a change and off-boarded the people who weren’t doing their jobs, but I dreaded letting anyone down. I had a massive mental block when it came to firing people. The real issue wasn’t my team. It was letting poor behavior go unchecked. It took many conversations with my fractional CEO at HTM to overcome my fear of letting people go. When I finally took the plunge and let the first person go, everyone else left. I had to rehire the entire team. It felt like the worst-case scenario.
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APRIL 2026 MEMBER BULLETIN
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