The importance of a follow-up meeting

- Very recently I was working with a coaching client,…an operations director in a pharmaceutical company.…This client was in a tricky position.…He had to tell a long standing supplier…that the business would no longer be using their services.…What made this even more difficult…was the supplier was a friend.…My client knew the implications this decision…would have on his supplier friend's relatively small…business but he also understood…the business rationale and why the decision had been made.…

The next step in the process was a follow-up meeting,…which was critical for a number of reasons.…Firstly, a second meeting allows…for the emotion to settle…and gives the person receiving bad news…time to digest the information.…It also provides the person delivering the news…with the opportunity to gather feedback…and find out more about the situation if they need to.…Secondly, the person receiving bad news…may not have expected it in the first meeting.…

They may be experiencing all kinds of emotions…and may not have been in a position…