Shannon Waller - Multiplication By Subtraction

Shannon Waller decisively explores an entrepreneurial breakthrough that other books never mention: strategically firing energy-draining employees for the specific transformative purpose of acknowledging and multiplying the outstanding contributions of those who always show up energized and committed.

Dan Sullivan

President & Founder, Strategic Coach

Going through the discomfort of letting someone go and then having your staff ask you, What took you so long? is embarrassing. This book has made me realize how important it is and how much easier it is for everyone involved to act quickly when there is doubt.

Mark W. Miller

Visionary & President, Performance Industrial

This is not the book you read and retire to the shelf.

I now have it available as a handy reference for hiring, maintaining, and letting go of team members. Shannon has provided a concise and clear what-to-do manual when faced with the challenge of letting go of employees. It provides thinking tools to build confidence and to end the procrastination that haunts us all in these difficult and emotional situations.

John Colaruotolo

President, Anco Builders

I wish Id had this book 20 years ago! I felt like it validated and gave me permission to follow my instincts and make some difficult but necessary endings. It gave us a lot to think and reflect on in our companys practices, both in how to handle existing personnel and how to be alert to new hires.

John Bews

President, Davis Bews Design Group Inc.

The book was written as if Shannon has been sitting in my office listening to my conversations for the past ten years. Shannons writing is insightful, relieving, and instructive in a way that only a teacher of entrepreneurs could have the insight and understanding to accomplish. This book will relieve the stress and anxiety of countless employers and employees alike.

Seth Ben-Ezra

Owner & Entrepreneur, Seth I. Ben-Ezra, P.C. and World Class Abstract

Shannon carefully explains why teams needs to comprise right-fit team members in order for a business to grow. The examples of symptoms and costs of wrong-fit team members were eye-opening and helped me realize that our program would not be scalable with our current team structure. The different scenarios experienced with team members and what to do, along with how to prepare for the conversation was invaluable. This is a great resource for anyone who is in the position of managing teams.

Tinamarie Berger

Director Of Content Marketing, The Recruiter U

This came at a perfect time for our organization. It helped us really open our eyes to some of the caustic mindsets and behaviors wed been tolerating or oblivious to, today and historically. The book helped us realize that wed made excuses for wrong-fit attitudes and behaviors, and trapped ourselves in a cycle of cultural and performance mediocrity. We are looking forward to using it to coach our team on the dangers of spending too long in scarcity traps, and to teach our leaders how to recognize wrong-fit team members and have the courage to make difficult endings.

Amanda Mulhearn

Strategic Projects Manager, Davis Bews Design Group Inc.

Shannon has worked with so many entrepreneurs; she knows what we needand how to give it to us. I love her checklist and takeaways. Multiplication By Subtraction gets to the point and will help me fix looming problems before they get out of hand. It will be a great guide the next time we need to prune the branches of our organization to prepare for future growth.

David Kolbe

CEO, Kolbe Corp

The book is another fabulous addition to my team tool chest. I have already shared it with key people and used it as part of our evaluation and feedback method. What a great tool to reinforce the concepts of The Team Success Handbook. Another winnerlove it!

Dr. Katrin Schmidt

Entrepreneur & Veterinarian, Simcoe Veterinary Hospital

Facing the reality of poorly performing team members isnt fun, but avoiding it is almost always costly. Shannons experience dealing with these situations comes through in Multiplication By Subtraction. Its a great, practical resource for correcting problems while theyre still correctable, as well as for ending them when necessary. This guide is a must-read for all entrepreneurs and their leaders!

Amy Bruske

President, Kolbe Corp

I love it. Its so true. I wish I had this book 15 years ago.

I read it and think, Thats me! every time.

Stan Doobin

Job Title, Harvard Maintenance, Inc.

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing your powerful concept of multiplication by subtraction. It has allowed me to break loose and move on from wrong-fit team members. I am so grateful for your guidance, coaching, and commitment to the plight of entrepreneurs.

Terry Powell

Founder & Visionary, Franchise Source Brands International

Multiplication by Subtraction : how to gracefully let go of wrong-fit team members

By Shannon Waller with Jayne Stymiest.

Copyright 2016 Shannon Waller

TM & 2016. The Strategic Coach Inc. All rights reserved. Strategic Coach, The Strategic Coach Program, Strategic Coach Team Leader Program, Entrepreneurial Team Program, and Unique Ability 2.0: Discovery are trademarks of The Strategic Coach Inc.

The Kolbe ATM Index, Kolbe CertifiedTM, Kolbe Conative Index, and The Kolbe SystemTM are trademarks of Kathy Kolbe and Kolbe Corp. All rights reserved. StrengthsFinder is a registered trademark of The Gallup Organization. All rights reserved. Wilson Learning is a registered trademark of Wilson Learning Worldwide Inc. All rights reserved. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a registered trademark of The Myers & Briggs Foundation. All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, or by any means whatsoever, without written permission from The Strategic Coach Inc., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Printed in Toronto, Canada. December 2016. The Strategic Coach Inc., 33 Fraser Avenue, Suite 201, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3J9.

This publication is meant to strengthen your common sense, not to substitute for it. It is also not a substitute for the advice of your doctor, lawyer, accountant, or any of your advisors, personal or professional.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Waller, Shannon, 1965-, author

Multiplication by subtraction : how to gracefully let go of wrong-fit team members / Shannon Waller with Jayne Stymiest.

ISBN 978-1-897239-56-8

Smashwords Edition

1. Employees--Dismissal of. 2. Teams in the workplace-- Management. I. Stymiest, Jayne, 1989-, author II. Title.

HF5549.5.D55W35 2017 658.313 C2016-907788-8

This book is dedicated to successful entrepreneurs who have struggled to let go of a team member who just doesnt fit.

A special acknowledgment to Dr. Henry Cloud: Your book Necessary Endings was the inspiration for this one. It was the motivation I needed to create Multiplication By Subtraction, a conversation crucial to entrepreneurial growth. Thank you for helping us accept and know when to graciously cut ties with the relationships that are no longer helping us grow.

Id also like to thank Babs Smith for coining the term multiplication by subtraction and thus naming this book.