How important is maintaining discipline in a business?

Question

I have an employee. He is aggressive, thinks independently, but he is not disciplined. His lack of discipline has cost me some money, but on the other hand saved me a lot of money also- he has saved me more than I lost, but his lack of discipline causes bad morale. He has a god-syndrome - he thinks he is the only one responsible for the business doing well, though in truth, it is really a team effort. Things that he saved me money on, well, now that I am aware of it, I really dont need him for it anymore. He wants to be pampered and wants to work outside the framework of processes that I set up

I have humored him in the begining, I needed his energy and aggressiveness to get myself out of the rut that I was in, then I tried bringing him in line, which worked for a while, but as the business started doing better, his head would reach for the clouds. The question is whether his lack of discipline will hurt me in the long run?

Answer 1

If I were you....sit him down and talk to him. Maybe he doesnt realize what he does or maybe he does. I work in HR and I think it is always good to sit down the employee and tell them what is going on and what you expect from him. And maybe even put all of it in writing and have him sign so that he is aware of the problem.

It's always good to give a chance to the employee to correct the problem and then take action if it is not corrected.

Answer 2

It is possible that there is a lack of focus here. I would suggest changing his title and clearly defining his job function. It IS obvious that this guy should be relieved of or at least be insulated from operations. Possibly by hiring a middle manager of sorts. Let him know that employee morale is part of his responsibility. Maybe make his bonus hinge upon permanent improvement in that area.
P.S. Nothing slows 'em down like making him answer to one of his underlings.

Answer 3

Your business is out of control (as though I needed to state the obvious).

The first question is: Can your business be successful without him?
He is acting like the senior partner in the business with you as the junior partner. You admit that he has saved the bacon for you in several situations that you were not prepared to handle at the time.
Are YOU ready to run the business without him?

Answer 4

This whole thing stinks of jealousy to me. You admit he saved your butt. Respect that. Channel his energy and challenge him more. He may get less cocky when he gets to the limits of his capabilities. I would consider him an asset.