Brian Moran is a business consultant who has the gift of learning from failure.

Here’s one of the most interesting insights from our conversation–Brian has learned the ‘right’ way to fire someone. Why? Because of his personal experience with being fired in a really bad way. “Whenever I’ve had to let people go, I’ve always explained to them why. I want it to be a learning experience. Sometimes it was budget cuts, sometimes it was performance, but having gone through what I had gone through, with no explanation…and that opportunity for a lesson to be learned was lost. And I remember saying to myself, ‘I will never let that happen.’”

He also is grateful for the boss who, on the face of things, short-changed him: “Who knows where I would have gone if I had stayed there. I would not be where I am today, so…I thank everybody who’s ever done anything bad to me and kicked me off the path that I was on.”

Wise words about helping others, including customers

One of the things Brian Moran has learned is the importance of teamwork. Of keeping values intact even as your new business takes off–a key true, lasting success.

Consider these insights, for example: “Marketing is telling people what you can do. Customer service is doing for people what you told them. Therein lies the problem as your company grows. Marketing goes to the left and customer service goes to the right.

When you start to build silos in your company, and people start to lose touch with each other. Companies start to lose their way. “Don’t build silos,” he says.

And this gem: “Some people aren’t religious—some people are more spiritual. But I always say to people, ‘Reason alone will never get you to where you want to go in life. At some point you will have to make a leap of faith. That faith is whatever you believe in that is beyond your capabilities.’”