Making the best of a bad situation

Here’s an unlikely bit of advice, but a timely one: how to get fired with dignity (via HarvardBusiness.org).

Let your newest good accomplishments speak for themselves. To avoid bad stories about the past, create new stories. For example, if Thain had started a smart new anti-poverty program since leaving Merrill and Bank of America, he might be in the news for other reasons than executive bonuses.

In the throes of embarassment and anger, it can be difficult to suppress the urge to lash out and hurt those who are hurting you. But as the article points out, it only tends to make it more difficult to move on.

Instead, finding the will to focus on future accomplishments and shift focus to what you’re doing now, rather than what you were doing before, is the best way to ease the transition to whatever comes next.

And something will come next.

What are your best tips for handling a job break-up with dignity?