$40K Settlement Suggests "Addition by Subtraction"

In Re the apparent settlement amounts paid to Herman Cain's accusers, read this analysis from a lawyer. Let me add two things. First, an accuser with a real claim doesn't go away for $40,000. A legit claim is looking for high six/low seven figures. Second, that $40,000 is a bargain to find out who within your organization is 1) a liar, 2) a troublemaker, 3) lazy, 4) a litigation time bomb or some combination thereof. Having had experience with organizations that are fanatical about attracting and cultivating talent, money spent culling dead wood/the wrong people is as good as money spent recruiting great people. Conventional HR wisdom used to be "what if we invest in our people and they leave the company?" I had an HR manager who always used to say "what if we don't invest in our people and they stay?" Small settlements like this are investments in "addition by subtraction."