"We encourage decision makers who have to fire a friend to do it as quickly as possible," said Richard S. Deems, author of "How to Fire Your Friends." "Otherwise it wears on you, and the person who is to be terminated will notice the differences in how you've been reacting and wonder why." You also want to keep your friend from finding out through some other channel -- preferably not the rumor mill -- and help them get back into the job-search game as quickly possible.