Why Let Charlie Sheen End It for Others?

By now the world is aware of Charlie Sheen’s antics causing “Two and a Half Men” to be canceled. There have been many responses from the business media, from aspects of the millions that will be lost from the cancellation, the hypocrisy of letting Sheen stay hired for so long despite his many problems throughout the years ("Insulting Chuck Lorre, Not Abuse, Gets Sheen Sidelined" by David Carr), and the psychology of the reasons people get themselves fired (“Why Do Smart People Do Dumb Things?” by Anne Fisher). I did not write about the blowup because I didn’t know exactly what Sheen said and also it is a known fact that he is an addict either on drugs or alcohol. Let me say that if Sheen is still dealing with demons, I wish him a strong recovery. I am writing about this because my first reaction: Why cancel the show because of Sheen?

I don’t work in Hollywood but I can remember a good amount of shows that have replaced cast members. The cancellation of the show means the loss of jobs. I am angry that one person’s actions spreads the consequences to people not involved in the action. I don’t watch the show but it has been running for many years and has been a success for all who are on the show, on the set and off. I certainly understand the reasons to fire Sheen. After all, can any one of us publicly insult and threaten our boss and still keep our job? No. No one has that much power in his or her position unless you are your own boss. Thus, firing him came as no surprise. Sheen’s actions are foolish and for him to be surprised at this firing surprises me.

So, the business point of this post is sometimes people in your business or job can mess things up for everyone. The result should not be to punish every one including those not involved in the disagreeable action. When the troubled person is someone who has repeatedly shown signs that they will go further with their antics, there should be a plan to handle their eventual firing.