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.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.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.