Handled creatively, getting fired allows an executive to actually experience a sense of relief that he never wanted the job he has lost.

An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job

"You're fired!" No other words can so easily and succinctly reduce a confident, self-assured executive to an insecure, groveling shred of his former self.

It allows them to have the experience of being the lungs for their instrument.

I don't want to say it's a sense of relief. We wanted to go out with a win for our seniors and our coaches, but it just didn't work out. It's sad to see all these coaches go. Every guy out here loves these coaches and what they've done for us. But at the same time, the program is going in a new direction.

Two successive commissioners in London police were fired by the mayor that came into office. That doesn't mean the police in London is not independent and does not exercise powers. Ultimately it is the political executive that has to answer.