The Boss With No Spine!
Back in the days of old (no cell phones, no email), I worked in a New York City sales office, for a guy who just could not stand confrontation. He told me once that he'd almost rather die than fire someone. But sometimes he had to. This is how he went about it. The occasion I best remember was the case of a woman named Pat. Ken (the boss) instructed me as follows. He wrote Pat a letter of dismissal, signed it, had me put it in a sealed envelope with her name on it. Then, he got hold of Pat on the phone and told her he'd gotten an appointment for her with a prospective client, for Thursday afternoon, around 3:30. This was a legitimate appointment; he had spoken to the prospect and it was set. However, just to cover himself, he kindly told Pat that if the prospect wasn't there or cancelled, she should "beat the rush-hour traffic" and just go home early. Who could resist such an offer? Meanwhile, Ken booked a flight for Thursday afternoon, when he expected Pat to b