Panera founder says one of his biggest regrets is not firing people faster — and he's even received thank-you's afterward

• Panera founder Ron Shaich says that he regrets not firing more people faster.
• He says that it's important to have "honest conversations" quickly and not let things fester.

"One of my greatest regrets or failings as a leader is that I should have fired more people faster," Panera's founder Ron Shaich writes in his recent book, "Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations."

While that statement might sound shocking, Shaich explains that, as a leader, it took him time to come to terms with the fact that his responsibility was to the larger organization, not necessarily to his individual employees.

"A leader's responsibility is not to make a person succeed," Shaich writes. "A leader's responsibility is to create direction for the organization and provide the space within which individuals can step up and perform, should they choose to do so. Some will. But some won't."

Shaich was the CEO of Panera Bread for 26 years — he cofounded Au Bon Pain, of which Panera Bread became a division, in 1981. After selling most of the company's other businesses to focus on growing Panera, he took the company public in 1991 and remained CEO until he stepped down in 2018.

Over his many years as CEO, Shaich says it took him time to have certain "honest conversations" in a timely manner — rather than letting things fester.

"I was too wrapped up in being a caring leader," Shaich says in his book. "I used to think that 'servant leadership' meant treating my team as a family."

But he goes on to explain that servant leadership isn't about being "nice" above all else, it's about being "helpful."

"And radical honesty is a much greater service to people than simply being kind," Shaich writes.

People are who they are, Shaich says, and a good leader needs to recognize that — it's important to meet people where they're at rather than thinking you can change them. And well, sometimes meeting people where they're at means firing them.

Though firing an employee or colleague is unlikely to be particularly pleasant, Shaich says that he's actually received thank-you letters from people he's fired over the years.

"You can fire someone and still respect each other," Shaich says.