We’re hoping Tim’s nephew got a second chance and cleaned up his act! Speaking of second chances, Tim Allen might well be the “poster-child” for second chances. In 1978, Allen was arrested at a Michigan airport with almost a pound and a half of cocaine in his possession. He pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking and served about 2 ½ years in federal prison.
Others who were given second chances include:
• Michael Jordan who was cut from his high school basketball team
• Henry Ford. He went broke before founding the Ford Motor company
• Fred Astaire. In his first movie screen test, he was told he was a washout. He went on to be one of Hollywood’s greats.
Giving people a second chance is often the right thing to do. Yet giving team members second chances may not be the issue. After all, as senior executives, we routinely do give people second chances. The real problem is more likely giving undeserving team members third, fourth, fifth and more chances. Certainly people do deserve another chance. The tricky question is how many chances are enough? Unfortunately, too often senior leaders do not make the difficult calls and allow the “bad apples” to linger. And we do not need to itemize the damage that can be done.
All-in-all, it seems to have worked out for Allen. With the second chance afforded him by the entertainment industry, Allen went on to be very successful in TV, movies and stand-up comedy.
Perform better!
