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How Would You Deal with Charlie Sheen (and Other Problem Employees)?
The embattled star of Two and a Half Men, who has embarked on a full-fledged media assault after CBS shelved his show for the season, insists he is "winning." Our Board of Directors enters the Sober Valley Lodge.
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As you may have heard, Charlie Sheen has been on a bit of a bender lately. A media bender, that is. The scandal-plagued star of Two and a Half Men -- which CBS recently shelved, citing the 45-year-old actor's erratic, rags-to-rehab behavior -- has embarked on a rambling interview tour that has included local radio shows, the major broadcast networks, TMZ and almost every outlet in between. "I feel more alive, I feel more focused, I feel more energetic," Sheen told CNN. "I'm on a quest to claim absolute victory on every front."During that quest, Sheen has assailed his employer, show creator Chuck Lorre, addiction specialists and even some members of the media that have lapped up the act almost as enthusiastically as their viewers. He's also given birth to a laundry list of colorful and generally hilarious catchphrases, including "tiger blood," "the Sober Valley Lodge" and the previously innocuous "winning" -- all of which have fueled countless conversations around the water-cooler and its digital counterpart, Twitter, which Sheen just joined and immediately began amassing thousands of followers.
For CBS, this is obviously a bit of a problem. The long-running Two and a Half Men is one of the top shows on television and the network stands to lose millions while the cast and crew sit idle -- not to mention future losses if the show is canceled outright. Should the sitcom resume, executives must figure out what to do with Sheen, the most bankable star on the small screen, who earns a reported $2 million per episode (and, among other wild claims during his interview tour, upped his quote to $3 million per episode). And given the chord that Sheen's "performance" has struck with the masses, what does the industry do if he somehow has become more popular than ever?
It's certainly not the first time a star employee (of the Hollywood variety or otherwise) has stepped out of line publicly. Even amid the endless chatter about Sheen's endless chatter this week, designer John Galliano was fired by Christian Dior after amateur video surfaced of him allegedly giving an intoxicated, anti-Semitic rant that included the quote, "I love Hitler!" (Newly minted Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, who serves as one of the faces of Dior, was born in Israel and has said she is "disgusted" by the remarks.)
So what's a boss to do? We reached out to our favorite group of bosses -- our Board of Directors -- to get their take on how to deal with admittedly talented, revenue-generating employees who refuse to play by the rules and embarrass their companies in the process. For any manager, it's a lesson in hiring, firing and second chances.
Jodie and Danielle Snyder
Co-Founders, DANNIJO
"We feel that it's important to run a business with integrity. In the case of Charlie Sheen, CBS is doing the right thing by canceling the remaining episodes of Two and a Half Men, despite its incredible ratings. The employees of a company (a network, in this case) are representative of the culture of a brand/business, and if one is acting out of line, he/she should be fired or reprimanded appropriately, so as to salvage the name of the brand or business. The good news is that there is always someone in line who wants the job more and has enough respect to uphold the reputation of a business.
"In the fashion world, French fashion house Christian Dior recently made the decision to fire its lead designer, John Galliano, for anti-Semitic comments. Galliano's behavior completely contradicted the company's values, and despite his importance to the company, he was let go. Dior serves a strong example of a company doing what's right -- no matter the consequences."
Clint Greenleaf
Founder and CEO, Greenleaf Book Group
"Ol' Charlie is a mess. I'm a big fan of giving people second chances, but he's way past that. Whether he's on "a drug called Charlie Sheen" or not, he's toxic. In general, depending on the severity of the behavior, I recommend either one second chance or a straight firing. Life is too short to employ jackasses."
Julie Jumonville
Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, UpSpring Baby
"We recently changed our hiring process by laying out the exact requirements of the job in a scorecard format that is reviewed in the interview. We detail the major tasks for the job, the timeframe in which it needs to be completed and rank the importance to the company. We ask for past experience on each of the tasks we outline in the interview, and basically get the new hire to agree to the requirements before they are considered for the position. This has eliminated confusion and provided clear guidance on the importance the new hire will play in the company."
Bob Parsons
Founder and CEO, The Go Daddy Group
"First and foremost, you've got to hire good people from the start. From there, if you have an employee who becomes problematic, you absolutely must deal with them directly and immediately. If the situation does not appear salvageable, it is always better to quickly 'prune the tree.'"
Phil Town
Investor and Author of Rule #1 and Payback Time
"I worked as a river guide for 10 years in the '70s, so I've got some serious empathy for Charlie Sheen. Ya gotta walk a mile in a guy's shoes. You have no idea the constant horror of having women throwing themselves at you. Remember when he was paying hookers and someone asked why would Charlie need to hire a hooker, his agent said that he doesn't hire them to sleep with him, he hires them to go home after. I get that. "I live and work with Melissa and she's at least two different women. She doesn't judge me either. She just tells me, 'You do that and I will hurt you.' We do good cop/bad cop with employees (and sometimes with ourselves). If you want to know how to deal with employees who get out of line, its easy -- be the good cop and then send them in to see Melissa and they'll straighten right up."
Elizabeth Busch, Anne Frey-Mott and Beckie Jankiewicz
Co-Founders, The Event Studio
"It is always important to be firm but fair. If the act is inappropriate and damaging to your company's brand and reputation, the employee must be let go immediately."
Gary Whitehill
Founder, The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week
"When the actions of an employee adversely affect the family atmosphere of the company as a whole, we take a poll to understand the consensus opinion of our team. At the end of the day, one bad apple can spoil the tree and we believe everyone should have their opinion heard when an employees actions jeopardize the greater whole."
Rob Adams
Director, Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas
"Fortunately, I don't watch TV nor read People. Based on the nature of the question, I think a severe dope-slap is in order. For further commentary, I'll need to send you to my publicist and PR agent ;)."
Comments (Page 1 of 11)
throw him off for a seaon. make beleive he when on a cruise. his brother is the really funny one .i bet the show would be a great with his brother and his son. we watch every night. need to show some new ones .the old series are getting stale....
LEAVE CHARLIE SHEEN ALONE.!!!!!!!! EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES .
AND WHOEVER SPEAKS BADLY ABOUT HIM ,TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOUR LIFE.
I BET YOURS IS'NT HALF AS NICE IS HIS.
Charlie is no different then any other actor/actress two in a half men has been so successful
that any one who makes that kind of money knows what they are doing right from wrong.
the more the media plays in to iit the more we get.I hope they all settle and the show goes back on the air,the way the world is we need laughter and that what we get more power to you Charlie.
you must be kidding, this guy beats the hell out of his wifes and you say leaave him alone, this guy should have been in jail a long time ago, period. you need to get a fricken life...
i would strip him oall movie rights and fine him 5 million dollars
Certainly, everyone makes mistakes, but most LEARN from them. Clearly, Sheen has fried his brain and needs much help. But, in the enormous scheme of things, enough of Sheen is ENOUGH! Let's give this attention to those much more deserving: starving children and world peace. I am sick and tired of the media attention given to someone who has everything and is wasting his God-given talent.
I agree.......I WANT CHARLIE BACK ON .......The network made lots of money for Charlie playing himself....Everyone needs to kiss an make up......I WANT CHARLIE BACK
Charlie Sheen is a self centered moron! Due to him several people are out of work and he doesn't care. You can defend him all you want but he has a big rude mouth, proven fact trouble with anger and is a classic drunk. Write him off the series and like bring in another relative who can play a good part, but Sheen is an eye sore and a mouth right out of a trash can. Then to deliberatly cause others to loose work is totally wrong.. Sheen needs to get what gives and boot his sorry behind and mouth out!! For now on put a clause on the contract about behavior, Sheen doesn't know how to act like a human being. The self centered putz
CBS is to blame for all of this. Sheen was like this BEFORE they hired him. If you know the stove is hot and you still touch it, you deserve to get burned!!
all u idiots saying leave him alone woulnt be saying that if it was one of ur family members losing money over him bein an ASS now would you!!!!! he think because he is charlie sheen he can ruin other peoples life . not cool.he is not that good !!! his show sucks. all he does is abuse woman but every one thinks thats cute.im glad cbs got a backbone an let his coke head ass go!!!
We can all give our opinion, but we should never as human beings give up on another human being. The man does not need our comments, he needs our help and compassion,. Life is not about the almighty dollar. It's about caring for each other. I will not judge charlie and neither should any of you. We have not lived his life. Bottom line, we have NOT lived his life. Making jokes is cruel. Maybe you all will be more understanding when something tragic hits you or your family. Think about it.
I say get really tough with Charlie. Tell him that he must stop this silly behavior or he will be asked to do 5 hours per week community service and pay a fine of $50. If that doesn't get any results, warn him that people may not like him if he keeps acting out. Finally, if that fails, cast flowery dispersions toward his person.
Otherwise let him sink to the bottom and get better or let him self destruct. His choice! Not oursI love this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via agegapsin gles.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends.. Just love it
I agree with you. Who is the biggest fans of the show. It does not make any sense of the garbage that is been thrown at him. Go Charlis, I always like your shows and movies.
I think this comes down to your HUMAN RIGHTS. WHY do we continually hold people accountable for their PRIVATE LIVES when it comes to your work! When they don;t have anything to do with each other, they stay separate. THE FACT THAT THE MEDIA DRAGS THEM TOGETHER does not make it right, or legal. What ABC did by firing Charlie Sheen for something that occurred out of the workplace, and did not affect their bottom line until THEY MADE IT affect their bottom line, is ILLEGAL. Charlie Sheen isn't costing his co-workers money and pay, the network is.
example: I don't care if you get a BJ in the Oval office. If you can run the god damn county better, more power to you!
And to whoever disputes this, take your Hippocratic ways and shove them. If you've EVER done anything wrong in your personal life, air it out in the office, get fired for it, and see how it feels.
Wake up and smell the coffee you "troll" You sound just like him! Anyone who stands up to that ranting has got to be out of touch to reality like him. He is winning? If you think "winning" is osing your kids, your job and your friends help? Good luck!
I think your 'board' is full of BRAND crap. The consumer see through all of this jargon. There are millions of horrible bosses out there and don't deny it. I do not agree with Charlie Sheen's behavior at all; however, I do believe that if Chuck Lorre wasn't personally offended, CBS would have let Charlie continue as it has increased their revenues and is all free advertising. I also believe both Charlie and CBS execs should have sat down behind closed doors before this blew up in front of the entire world, including all of our children. I will personally never watch another show created by this group. I also won't watch Charlie Sheen in anything else he is in.
Yes he is out of control - but he makes the show and that pays lots of workers (and boss's). So nice to see someone respond to always stupid media questions with the answer DUH. And she didn't even catch on. Im suprised she didn't ask what kind of tree he would be.
Leave the man alone, jezzzz doesnt everyone go out sometimes and have a good time? he is human, not perfect...no one is, this is how he chooses to live, its none of our business!!!!!!!!
LOOOLLLLL)OOOOKKKKK his eyes charlie is mentaly ill someone with balls need to comitt him he is looking for help please get him help