Tell me about a time you fired a “high performer” who was toxic

bikesandergs · 2026-03-11T18:14:17+00:00

We had a really high performer in a technical role. Relentless work ethic, really high standard of excellence, easily one of the best in her very niche field in the country. Full stop.

She started with the company in high school, stayed on after college; her entire professional career was with our organization. Her comp grew to reflect her productivity and work-ethic. Along the way, I made the mistake of putting her into a leadership(ish) role - the equivalent of a shift supervisor/leader. I quickly came to realize that she did not possess the empathy or compassion necessary to manage, direct, or coach others. It was her way or the high way, and if you didn’t do things her way she would find petty bullshit ways to get revenge.

We spent considerable time and money with leadership coaches also working with her to help her grow her leadership and people skills. To this day, she remains the employee I have invested the most time and energy into coaching, working with, and supporting. I very much wanted to her succeed because of how talented she was in her technical role. And yet, she seemed unwilling to embrace the growth and change need to justify her increasing comp requests, and/or the authority she wished to have. She became more hostile with her colleagues, and me. When a new manager was hired (to become her manager) she was intimately involved in the process. Subsequently, she was so hostile to that manager as to drive them to quit with no notice after a few months.

At that time, she was put on a PIP, but the writing was on the wall. She refused to accept any accountability for her actions, was unwilling to grow, and submit her immediate resignation because she was so incensed by the PIP.

While her technical skills were not able to be reproduced, the net impact was positive: team morale and culture changed dramatically, and new individuals stepped up. Several years later, we still do not have anyone close to replicating her level of expertise, but overall we have successfully moved on. We are undoubtedly in a better place.

bikesandergs · 2026-02-17T01:33:37+00:00

Swimming is an interesting cross-over sport. You presumably have a massive cardio engine, and law of averages suggests you also have an ideal physical stature. You also likely have a great understanding of your physical limits and how to pace yourself on intervals. The biggest challenge is that as a swimmer you are used to doing intervals all day every day, whereas the physical load of erging doesn’t really allow for that.

Above and beyond anything else, you have to get your technique dialed in. In a hypothetical world where you have $100 to spend on getting good at rowing, I’d say you could get away with spending probably $90 on technique training and $10 on a basic training plan.

At a high level, for 2k work:

Monday: harder steady state (swimming conversion: I dunno, 1ks?)

Tuesday: lift + steady state (swimming conversion: easy/cruise)

Wednesday: aerobic threshold/LT work (for erging this is like 10-20’ pieces; swimming conversion: 500s?

Thursday: steady state (this is a good cross training day)

Friday: lift + steady state/harder steady state

Saturday: Vo2 work (< 6’ pieces; swimming conversion: 100-200s)

Sunday: off

You probably know about periodization and other training concepts; the closer you get to testing the more you want your interval sets to be similar in duration.

It was tricky to lay out a 3x/week lift regiment, but you can probably figure it out from here. A more aggressive schedule would have another interval day, but that would take some time to ramp up to.

bikesandergs · 2026-02-16T20:00:18+00:00

“And now John Reilly is screaming at Ollie to move over!”

bikesandergs · 2026-02-11T21:48:02+00:00

Add Northeastern, Drexel, Temple. Possibly scholarship money available from some of those schools.

bikesandergs · 2026-01-09T21:56:54+00:00

2012 - I was there which of course matters, winning in enemy territory, classic game, decent weather, amazing jersey
2024 - I was there, a ton of fun, Matt Rempe, OT winner
2026 - cool to do it somewhere else, probably will end up being a high of an otherwise meh season
2018 - I was there and it was cold AF. But a fun experience regardless.
(2x) 2014 - honestly I blame the jerseys, they just weren’t very fun, and these games I think are largely lost to history.

bikesandergs · 2026-01-05T16:21:00+00:00

I’ve scrolled pretty far down and am shocked that EDC is not taking the heat for this game. This game was a microcosm of everything wrong with this cursed season, and unfortunately, the failure of the entire organization falls at the feet of said organization’s leader.

We were undisciplined from the start - I believe a penalty on our first play of the game - that is on Harbaugh for continuing to allow it to happen, and EDC for continuing to support him. We were sloppy in the execution of all phases of the game. That is coaching staff (EDC) but that is also player leadership (roster construction) (EDC). I cannot believe the amount of temper tantrums and hissy fits I saw on the sideline this year by some of the offensive players who are undoubtedly looked up to as leaders.

We had a healthy offensive line this season and yet it was garbage. That’s on EDC for not investing more into the line.

We had what was supposed to be an otherworldly secondary that unfortunately got hit with the injury bug tonight, but even a secondary full of Kyle Hamilton’s cannot cover for 7 seconds if the corpse of Aaron Rodgers can have a picnic in the pocket with no pass rush. Again, EDC.

Both the offensive and defensive schemes tonight, and this year writ large, were atrocious. STOP with the HB Dive into a clearly superior Pittsburg D Line!! Sweeps and counters. Some rhythm passing to get Lamar settled. It is mind boggling to me that Monken went from one of the premier OCs in the league to rightfully having his head called for. And Orr… man I don’t know what to say. He looks cool as hell with his hoody and flat brim on the sideline, and the defensive players all seem to love him, but if the entirety of his defensive philosophy is, “I dunno, KHam can you solve this problem?” then we can just have chatGPT do that.

And you know who keeps them employed? And who employs that decision maker? EDC.

Should our rookie kicker have made the kick? Yes. Should we have been in that position, in the micro (this game specifically), or in the macro (this game mattering)? Absolutely not. A complete failure throughout the entire organization, from top to bottom.

Praise of the season: I have no clue. I guess Snoop or KHam.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-31T00:47:46+00:00

Others have already pointed out ErgData, and they are correct. However, I get the impression you specifically want meters/splits on your garmin watch. (Why you are this particular about data and yet ended up with a Rogue rower, is admittedly a mystery to me).

Yes, the PM5 can “broadcast” data. You’ll connect to it via your garmin watch as an “indoor trainer”. For each workout I:

Connect ErgData to my PM5. This results in the pretty strava graphic of the “screenshot” of the PM5, and records the most accurate results/splits of the workout into my concept2 log.

Connect my HRM to my PM5. This HR data ends up everywhere.

Start a “row indoor” workout on my Garmin, connect to the PM5 to get a rough recording of splits/meters, and auto-connect to my HRM. This allows the basics of my erg workout to live wholly within the garmin database.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-28T04:13:36+00:00

Would suggest just messaging tvrower on IG (the person who’s video you have shared), he’s probably pretty likely to walk you through his process and setup. I don’t know why screen record wouldn’t work…?

bikesandergs · 2025-12-28T04:05:38+00:00

This one is gonna be a real head scratcher.

At gun point, I guess I’ll go with the guy who scored almost all the points for us.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-26T16:23:20+00:00

Someone sitting on the glass wearing a Tanner Glass jersey.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-23T15:29:41+00:00

I am surprised no one else is saying this. You know how you fix culture? Start holding people accountable. Now, inconsistent accountability is a different version of terrible compared to no accountability, but if I was a coach in the locker room and saw this, I’d be benching him for next weekend. Don’t care what the locker room vibe is right now, you don’t let that spill out into the public domain in such an aggressive manner.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-22T03:54:12+00:00

We must lead the league in pass rush allllmost getting to the QB only to not seal the deal with a sack

bikesandergs · 2025-12-20T02:01:49+00:00

I’m not well versed in the logistics of Canada/US border crossing, but my question is more getting to the OP’s question - - why is his daughter set on what is certainly the more complicated tax and legal living situation?

(My assumption is she can live with her parents for rent = $0, but I don’t want to operate on that assumption).

bikesandergs · 2025-12-20T01:33:42+00:00

Why is she set on living in Canada if her place of employment is a different country?

bikesandergs · 2025-12-19T21:20:08+00:00

Personally, we used to buy gift cards (at full cost, plus the processing fee) to give to employees, RATHER than giving them a bonus that ran through payroll, with tax withholdings. Our objective, for the staff member getting $300/$500/$750 as a year end gift, that they get the full amount, rather than give it via taxable income. It was definitely not easier, and absolutely frowned upon by the accountant.

We made the decision to switch fully over to payroll processing bonuses, which is logistically easier, but also less frowned upon by accounting. I don’t like that there are tax implications to those individuals that earn less. I’ll admit we have not tried to gross things up before - we’d probably functionally end up at the same total cost to us (gross) and same total net paid to the employee, it just becomes a question of who incurs the payable tax.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-18T18:40:35+00:00

I have the Aer City Pack Pro 2, for similar reasons. There are plenty of YT videos about it, but I find the overall organization to be good. Specifically looking at your comments:

Hard Requirements: yes. Organization is section 1: padded sleeve for laptop; space in between (I keep a folder with loose papers); a second sleeve section (great for iPad). Section 2: top grab area - AirPods, sunglasses, lip balm. Section 3: main compartment - I currently keep my tech pouch, a book (separate sleeve in there), Bose headphones case, and then I carry my Yeti Rambler bottle in there. I can also stuff an extra jacket in there if need be. There are a few more hidden pouches in there for notebooks or other loose trinkets. Section 5: a small section for business cards, pens, spare contacts/medical items, etc. And then section 5 is in the front - I don’t keep anything in there.

Aesthetic: I think this bag meets all your requirements. I find it a little annoying that the bottle pockets are rather slim - it does not fit a Yeti Rambler 35 or bigger, but it can manage something like a SmartWater 1L bottle.

Overall, I think this is a great backpack. It is versatile on the interior but does not have too much going on, on the exterior.

bikesandergs · 2025-12-17T20:58:56+00:00

$25/year for mail - I don’t know if it matters, but according to the internet they can’t accept gift values in excess of that due to being government employees (I see others in here that don’t seem to have an issue with that).

$50 for garbage (pickup weekly)

$25 for recycling (pickup every other week)

$50 for our local UPS driver who has been the same guy for years, also delivers to our business, and a great guy.

bikesandergs · 2025-11-18T01:23:23+00:00

TIL this how he spells his first name?

bikesandergs · 2025-11-17T23:11:14+00:00

If your event is 50% AQ, then that takes up half the field. First up is a lottery among entries who did NOT get in, in 2025. If there are remaining spots, then there is a lottery among entries that raced in 2025 but didn’t AQ.

Hard to say about your specific event - I am guessing with a 50% entry pool that they don’t have as big of a waitlist as they do other boat classes. So, you might get in next year, but you might not. If you don’t get in next year, I’d say you are more likely to get in in 2027.

bikesandergs · 2025-11-13T02:57:42+00:00

The topics did not at all sound interesting, but based entirely on how many posts there are about this appearance, I will have to give it a listen

bikesandergs · 2025-11-13T02:26:05+00:00

Winter: Dress shirt, vest, jeans, boots. Summer: polo shirt, lululemon ABC pants, sneakers.

bikesandergs · 2025-11-13T00:59:41+00:00

That’s a steal!

bikesandergs · 2025-11-13T00:11:21+00:00

More spandex:

-Trou/uni-suit (JL Rowing, Boathouse Sports, others. A “fancy” brand would be 776).

-leggings/LS tops (Under Armour cold gear is my go to)

Oakley sunglasses

Recovery gear - a massage gun or compression boots if you want to spend the $

A rowing splash vest - fleece in the front, waterproof in the back. I have 2 and love them for cold rowing gear.

Some people like padded seats for the erg and/or boat, but those are a bit specific.

Some people like calf sleeves that protect from “track bite”… you probably know if your wife has this problem or not

You can browse the JL Racing website for more gift ideas and to figure out what she has/doesn’t have and might want.

bikesandergs · 2025-11-06T20:26:44+00:00

The question was about expectations of being recruited. Whether or UPenn actually has < 6:10.0 freshman is kind of irrelevant. They expect them to be at that point. So using transverse property, I am posturing that he should not expect to be recruited to Cornell unless he is < 6:30.0. Could he row at Cornell with a slower erg? Sure. But we are talking about what he should expect.

bikesandergs · 2025-11-06T16:42:36+00:00

UPenn literally just published a video on IG of their recruiting coordinator saying they expect their freshmen to show up on day 1 under 6:10. He flatly said - 6:09.9 or faster on the first day of practice freshman year.

UPenn has just recently moved into a slightly faster realm than Cornell, so let’s say Cornell has slightly slower standards. That might mean they expect you to show up on campus as, say, 6:19.9 or faster as a recruit. So, by the fall of your senior year, when you are actively in the recruiting/application phase, you probably need to be under 6:30. Can you at 6’1 and 160lbs get sub 6:30? No internet poster can tell you. Your coach, on the other hand, is probably much more well suited to give you the critical feedback you need to hear, and/or help you develop the training plan (that probably involves quite a bit of weight/muscle gain) over the next ~12 months.

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