Making Yourself a CEO
This reminds me of the first time I fired someone.  I spent probably a week mentally planning how to do it--thought about how the conversation would go in the car, in the shower, before I went to sleep.  The guy had a wife and kids and I was getting ready to put him in the unemployment line.  I felt especially guilty because he shouldn't have been hired in the first place; we were desperate at the time.  That was a mistake I made against my better judgment.<p>When it came time to actually have the conversation at one point he stopped me (I was busy trying to soften the blow) and said, "This sucks, but I get it.  I understand."  And I realized that I had prepared him for that point for months and that what was coming wasn't ultimately that much of a surprise.<p>Since then I've resolved to just be straight with feedback.  For most firing situations, it's simply because it's not a good fit.  Being able to look forward to a better situation in a couple months is enough to make most people accept the decision.