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Current business conditions are causing all sorts of leaders to fundamentally reassess where they stand and what they are doing with their lives.

I work with a couple in their early fifties who have been trading in the food industry for twenty years. When I asked whether they envisaged one or two of their children joining the family business, the reply was, “Oh my God, I wouldn’t wish that on any on anyone, let alone my own children.� My next question was, “Well the Government want us all to work ‘til we are eighty five now, so do you fancy another thirty years of this?�

This led on to the value of the business and whether it could be sold and how much they would be able to walk away with. One said “At least the goodwill must be worth a fortune.� I asked why it would be worth anything since any goodwill is totally down to the proprietors themselves and once they leave, the goodwill is on the same train.

So they asked about all their unique recipes they have developed over the years Surely they have a value? Most of the good ones have been published in one form or another. This means that any tacit knowledge that was used to create them immediately become explicit knowledge on publication. Explicit knowledge, although most business leaders do not understand this point, is virtually valueless.

So then I asked whether they need to work at all. There is a lifestyle that they enjoy and that could not be sustained without the business. It’s all they know.

So we are back to the business. We are back to the three eternal truths of any business: the need to clarify direction, (the Bull’s Eye) develop trust, (getting CLOSER to people) and enhance performance (personal and professional development)

I’ve had a dozen or more sessions like this in the last few months. It’s the stuff going on subconsciously that ultimately determines the outcome, for all of us.