Bad Apples Make Bad Seeds
It is difficult to let go of a caustic high performer, especially in a small business where productivity is paramount.
But people underestimate how much lousy behavior spreads. It’s comforting to think it’s isolated—a bad apple in a group, a single exception. But bad apples don’t stay isolated. They spread their rot.
In teams, this happens when bad behavior goes unchecked. Someone cuts corners or undermines a colleague, and others see it. The message isn’t just that it’s tolerated—it’s that it works. People copy what works. One bad apple can turn a whole team into something worse than the sum of its parts.
The real danger isn’t the immediate effect; it’s the culture it seeds—a culture where people stop trusting each other. Those seeds grow fast, and once they’ve taken root, it’s hard to reverse them.
But the reverse is also true. A good culture can overpower a bad apple. If a team values honesty and collaboration, bad behavior sticks out. It feels uncomfortable. Over time, the bad apple either changes or leaves.
Lesson Learned: Pay attention early and don’t wait for the rot to spread. Teams don’t collapse overnight. It’s slow, and by the time it’s obvious, it's already too late. Catch it while it’s small—not just the bad behavior but the seeds it plants. That’s how you keep the culture strong.
It’s harder than ignoring it, but it’s worth it.