• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Community
  • Contact

SMARTY.

The human side of business

Small Business

Dismissed.

December 12, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

There are usually a few paths to the same place.

A few weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, just as I was powering down for the weekend, I found myself on the receiving end of a client termination email. And not just with me, this start-up had also ended its agreements with a dozen independent contractor team members, roughly ¾ of its day 1 working group, in order to re-org. Despite two years of working together, hours spent caring, crafting, cajoling (sometimes on Sundays), the mechanism (email) was perfunctory; the language cold and antiseptic. Each letter was identical.

It reminded me of the real estate developer who renovates, and then hikes rents, without providing any notice. Or the partner who critiques the deal, before supporting it, in order to demonstrate value.

While at first glance dissimilar, in all of these situations, the right thing to do isn’t what is in question: Companies need to reorganize or close, buildings need to be updated and rents (incrementally) raised, and ideas call for critical thinking before deployment. But there is almost always more than one way to do anything.

How we say no, give difficult news or cut ties often says more about who we are than the action itself.

Assuming most sane humans don’t fire people via Twitter or national news (!), the medium – phone, email, in-person, text – matters. As does the substance, tone and timing.

HR recommendations aside, having a human interaction with someone, even for a minute or two, goes a long way to preserving whatever goodwill exists. Yet some people fear opening a door into another person’s feelings or experience, because they won’t know how to shut it in a compassionate way.

But this reduces us to assets, talents and contractors, not teammates and people …who, among other sacrifices, missed putting their kids to bed or going out to dinner in order to help fulfill a last minute request.

My dad always said, as I was getting out of the car to go to school, “Goodbye sweetheart. Be nice to everyone.” Turns out, that’s not the collective rule of thumb out there.

But it’s really not such a reach when you try.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Share

Share
Tweet
Email
Pin
Comment
Previous
Next

Comments Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Topics

  • Small Business
  • Big Life
  • Small Towns
  • Big Brands
  • Popular Posts
  • Uncategorized

About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter who has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from icons like Ford, BVLGARI, Pottery Barn, Pantene and Virgin, to boutique brands like The Wild Unknown, fitness franchise Barre3 and the rebrand of legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. She has leveraged this expertise to help entrepreneurial women and small businesses owners hone their skills, mission and message, while uncovering their own “voice.” This blog explores “the human side of business,” and universal themes like uncertainty, anxiety, the tension between engagement and disconnection, personal value and most importantly, of finding - and hearing - our own voices in our everyday life.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

Subscribe

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Archives

  • ►2020
    • ►April
      • Company.
    • ►March
      • Connected.
      • This.
      • Uncertainty.
    • ►February
      • Devotion.
    • ►January
      • TBH.
  • ►2019
    • ►October
      • Cadence.
    • ►July
      • Traps.
    • ►May
      • Plot.
    • ►March
      • Answers.
    • ►February
      • Regret.
    • ►January
      • New Year, New...?
  • ►2018
    • ►December
      • Magic.
    • ►October
      • Fearless.
    • ►September
      • Replication.
      • September.
    • ►June
      • Restoration.
      • Tenancy.
    • ►May
      • Narrow.
      • WOTO.
    • ►April
      • Rattled.
      • Lego.
    • ►March
      • CNN.
      • Just.
      • Unfollow.
    • ►February
      • Zerrissenheit.
      • Malls.
      • Eggshells.
      • Hold.
    • ►January
      • Demonstrate.
      • Brrr.
      • Stella.
      • Hello 2018.
  • ►2017
    • ►December
      • Resentment.
      • Dismissed.
      • Waiting.
    • ►November
      • Artificial Deadlines.
      • Regular.
      • Equal.
      • Knowing.
    • ►October
      • Frequent Finish Lines.
      • Copycats Part Deux.
      • Copycats.
      • Contact High.
      • Intentional Tension.
    • ►September
      • Fanship.
      • Clive.
      • Pause.
    • ►July
      • Millennialmania.
      • Colette.
      • Downsellers.
      • Hood Ornaments.
    • ►June
      • Singular.
      • Half Me.
      • Metaphor.
      • Reins.
    • ►May
      • Itches.
      • Blinders.
      • Free.
      • Chemistry.
      • Content.
    • ►April
      • Left Out.
      • Deference.
      • Triggers.
      • The Ask.
    • ►March
      • Room.
      • Generous.
      • Empathy.
      • Descriptions.
    • ►February
      • Teflon.
      • Code.
      • Force.
      • Moves.
    • ►January
      • Rope.
      • Recovery.
      • Out.
      • Belonging.
      • Small.
  • ►2016
    • ►December
      • Resolutions.
      • Work.
      • Idle.
      • Details.
    • ►November
      • Presentation.
      • Editors.
      • Crazy.
      • Tomorrow.
      • ROR.
    • ►October
      • Joy.
      • Words.
      • Machinery.
      • Face Time.
    • ►September
      • Marriott.
      • Bush.
      • Round and Round
      • Maiden Voyages
    • ►August
      • Destination: Procrastination.
      • Age
      • Inspired Conversations
      • The Ten Minutes.
      • Format
    • ►July
      • Attachments.
      • Who gets your best you.
      • Divided.
      • Performance.
    • ►June
      • For the Originators
      • Chief.
      • The Problem with Passion
      • Platforms.
    • ►May
      • Ordinary.
      • Kenny.
      • Over Everything.
      • See Me
      • Conditions
    • ►April
      • Solving Obvious.
      • Wisdom.
      • Happy Faces.
      • Mr.Sullivan
    • ►March
      • Spirit Animals.
      • The Ensemble Life.
      • Tinkering.
      • Badassery.
    • ►February
      • Adaptation.
      • We Hate It When Our Friends become Successful.
      • Alone in the Field.
      • Portraits.
    • ►January
      • The Process Is The Answer.
      • I Can't Believe Anyone Thinks This Still Works.
      • Rebel Rebel.
      • Commitments. The Fourth Kind.
  • ►2015
    • ►December
      • Unscripted
      • Novelty
      • No Pants.
    • ►November
      • Solve If With What.
      • Dualité.
      • Last Days
      • Whatchyou Sayin?
    • ►October
      • Wanna Get Busy (With Me)?
      • Professionals
    • ►September
      • Fluency
    • ►August
      • The Curse of Customization.
      • Is it that hard to…?
      • Misery.
    • ►July
      • Brave.
      • Blind Spots.
      • Bailing or Believing.
      • The Tension.
    • ►June
      • Nobody Likes The Squirrel.
      • I Just Don't Have Time For Friends.
      • Got A Handle?
    • ►May
      • Earned Wisdom
      • The Whole 'Have It All' Thing. 
      • The Dip vs. The Dive
      • The Power of Disengagement
    • ►March
      • It's good to be loved...
    • ►February
      • Apple – User (and Worker) Friendly
    • ►January
      • The Bird Theory

Search

Instagram

Instagram did not return a 200.

About

SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

Never Miss a Post

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Latest Posts

  • Company.
  • Connected.
  • This.
  • Uncertainty.
  • Devotion.

Copyright 2021 SMARTY.