--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Recently, I was asked if I was going to…" description: "\"Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 traini..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-j-watson-22867_business_recently-i-was-asked-if-i-was-going-to-f_2213749.png" --- # Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee… ![“Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?” quote by Thomas J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-j-watson-22867_business_recently-i-was-asked-if-i-was-going-to-f_2213749.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-j-watson-22867_business_recently-i-was-asked-if-i-was-going-to-f_2213749.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-j-watson-22867_business_recently-i-was-asked-if-i-was-going-to-f_2213749.png) > “Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?” [Thomas J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-watson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A manager invests heavily in training rather than firing, valuing experience over immediate cost. **In simple terms:** Invest in people, not just profit. Key Takeaway Prioritize employee development. Themes leadership training cost management Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice leadership When to use this quote - HR decisions - budget planning - team building Key Concepts human capital learning investment Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance training costs with risk? - What metrics show training ROI? A Different Perspective Training may not guarantee future performance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Employee Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee-mistake-4912165/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Going Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-employee-4912167/) [Hire Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hire-experience-2379745/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-cost-863717/) [Somebody Hire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somebody-hire-4912166/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [We will hire someone with less experience, less education, and less expertise, than someone who has more of those things and has a rotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/we-will-hire-someone-with-less-experience-less-education-and-less/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [If you're not right, you can make a mistake that will cost your team-mates a game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petr-cech/if-you-re-not-right-you-can-make-a-mistake-that-will-cost-your-team/) [Petr Cech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petr-cech/) > [The biggest mistake I made and what cost me a lot of enjoyment in my life, was assuming that everybody cared. 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