John Patterson founded National Cash Register in the early 1900s. It became a huge success, but more enduring than the business Patterson built was a term he inspired: “firing” an employee. But when this nightmare of an employer used the term, it was meant nearly literally. Yes, Patterson directed that underperforming salesmen’s desks and chairs be carried outside headquarters and be torched as the signal that their employment with him was at an end. (At least they weren’t still sitting in the chairs when they were set ablaze.)
As for job security even for good employees, forget it. Patterson’s motto was, “When a man gets indispensable, let’s fire him.” The slightest infraction of his many lifestyle rules, such as consuming pepper, was grounds for dismissal.
NCR acquired or sued into destruction most of its competitors until the company was found guilty in 1912 of being a monopoly and violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. And eventually, the “law of the hearvest” (you reap what you sow) caught up with Patterson: One of his fired executives, Thomas Watson, went on to launch a company which became a perennial thorn in NCR’s side, and would utterly eclipse it in business history: International Business Machines (IBM).
Early Christians also believed in “firing” corrupt or compromised believers. This was especially true of those in leadership positions who failed morally or taught false doctrine. Paul used harsh language to describe his opinion of them (see Galatians 5:12) but New Testament Christians never physically harmed those they put out. God, on the other hand, could be more direct (see Acts 5:4-11).
________
Adapted from an article by Annalisa Kraft-Linder in www.dailyfinance.com , June 13, 2014.