More than 500 “Canonites”—a mix of friends, foreigners, couples, families and hobbyists—went over to Tagaytay City, looked for perfect spots and took their best shots in the 4th Canon Photo Marathon Philippines 2009 last week.

Slightly colder temperature greeted the participants but they were warmly welcomed by the Canon family headed by CEO and president Ramon G. Arteficio in the Tagaytay International Convention Center.

Consider it as the driver of growth for Philippine business and economy. The Agora Awards, an annual project of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), deserves no less than a standing ovation in pushing for the socio-economic development of our country.

The beacon of Filipino marketing excellence, as it proudly hails its 30 long years of existence, spotlights admirable qualities of versatility, innovativeness and ingenuity—achievements that have propelled Filipinos as world-class marketers.

Firing someone is awful, both for the person doing the firing and, obviously, for the person being asked to leave. Most good managers find the actual deed incredibly difficult. The person being let go might be having the worst day of his career.

So how do you manage a parting of ways with as little pain and damage as possible? The answer is pretty straightforward: Managers need to accept that letting people go is a process that they must fully own, and pay careful attention to several dos and don’ts.