Why 'BigDeal' host Codie Sanchez says workplace gossip is a fireable offense at her company

Codie Sanchez, founder of Contrarian Thinking.

Contrarian Thinking Codie Sanchez said gossip is a fireable offense at her company, Contrarian Thinking.

The entrepreneur and creator said employees who gossip undermine the company culture.

Sanchez encourages employees to be direct — even if it means criticizing her.

Entrepreneur and creator Codie Sanchez doesn't tolerate gossip at her company — and will fire people for it.

"We have kind of a no-gossip culture here," she said.

"We have a belief that, if you have something you want to say, say it to the person.

Don't go around them." Sanchez said if a person gets caught spreading dirt, they'll get a warning.

The second time, they'll be let go.

The ex-Wall Streeter established herself by buying "boring" businesses like laundromats.

She founded the Austin, Texas-based company, Contrarian Thinking, which helps people buy and build businesses.

Sanchez also has a big social media presence, with 3.3 million Instagram followers and a popular podcast called "BigDeal." Sanchez tells a story about gossip in her new book, "Own or Be Owned: Build a Business So Good It Doesn't Need You." It's a follow-up to her New York Times bestseller "Main Street Millionaire." Sanchez wrote that she had just ended remote work, which led to people quitting, being fired, and fights on Slack.

One person, she wrote, "became the mascot for everything broken." "Every week they'd find a new audience to tell, 'We work too hard, this place is crazy, everything else is the problem,'" she wrote.

Her takeaway was that people who "live on gossip and victimhood" not only underperform but also spread a bad culture to the rest of the company.