Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran 'loves' firing staff on Fridays — some even agree with her reason

Amidst the layoff wave that hit the American tech sector a couple of years back, several firms were slammed for firing employees in the most bizarre ways, and CEOs faced flak for insensitive comments. One of them is Shark Tank star and businesswoman Barbara Corcoran, who triggered online outrage last year by revealing how she loved firing negative employees on Friday. Corcoran was heard speaking about a practice she follows while terminating staffers in one of the episodes of the podcast "The Diary of a CEO," which went viral on TikTok. "What I would love to do is call someone into my office on Friday," Corcoran said. "I love firing people on Friday. I would stop by someone’s desk on a Wednesday and say, ‘Hey, would you have any time, sometime on Friday?'" she added, according to The Independent.

"They should have heard about the rumors," Corcoran said in the podcast. "I couldn’t wait till they came in to fire them!" She then talked about how her decision to fire people is improving her team. "I picked out individuals who were negative,” she said, before adding “And my attitude towards the negative person was they were ruining my good kids. Because people who are negative have to have someone else to be negative with them." People who provide criticism are invaluable according to her, and the people earmarked for Friday firings were "chronic complainers," she added.

Corcoran revealed that during the meeting, she simply told people that they weren't a great fit for the company. “I learned very early, after firing one negative person, never tell them why you’re firing them or you’re getting a rat’s nest,” she explained. “You just don’t fit the company," she said. The video which has now been deleted, was viewed more than 800,000 times and got mixed reactions. “I’ve never agreed with anyone more,” a user said, while another wrote, "She is so right though a negative person ruins a team."

Barbara Corcoran who was born in Edgewater, New Jersey started working at a very young age. She had already worked a total of 20 jobs by the time she was 23 including a side job renting apartments in New York City. She knew from a young age that she was going to start her venture which she did in 1973 along with her ex-boyfriend who loaned her $1,000. She later left her boyfriend and formed her firm, The Corcoran Group, almost seven years later. In 2001, Corcoran sold her business to NRT for $66 million. She later rose to fame after joining the panel on Shark Tank. According to Parade, the businesswoman is worth around $100 million now.

Speaking with The Future of Business and Tech about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, Corcoran stressed the importance of failure. “Failing a lot is the ultimate proof that you’re meant to be a successful entrepreneur, as it shows you’re willing to shake up the status quo and try new things,” she said. “You need to be able to take a hit, bounce back up and say ‘Hit me again.’ If you can’t take a hit, you won’t stay in business.”