What About The Old Guys?

Lathom1 says "My team is made up of young and old, male and female, black and white...The senior folks show up, punch the timeclock, under perform, and go home for the day...I am fast approaching time for promotion consideration. I don't dread making hard decisions, but I'm only human, and understand the pain the senior folks feel. Am I soft, am I doomed to failure as a manager?

What do you think? How should Lathom deal with underperforming employees? Add your comments and read what your peers think in this discussion on our Management Forum.