When I was a new manager, I had a problem employee. He was very bright, but very lazy. He wasn't self-motivated and was always doing everything in a mediocre

When I was a new manager, I had a problem employee. He was very bright, but very lazy. He wasn't self-motivated and was always doing everything in a mediocre way. I ignored the problem for a long time, which caused friction within my team. I eventually had to fire him when the situation got very severe. The mistake I made was not addressing it right away. I think that now, how to fire (or better stated, "manage up or out") your first employee as a new manager is one of the most important things you have to figure out how to do right. The next time I had a problem employee, I got on it right as soon as the problem was clear. Saved me and everyone around me lots of grief.