Business…is personal.

Do you operate a business with one or more partners? Are you finding yourself beating your head against a wall? In the middle of the night do you find yourself saying “It shouldn’t be this hard”?

It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the same preferences, biases, likes and dislikes that we bring into the world of our friendships and intimate relationships should also bleed into our professional lives. The good news is that I suppose it means we’re human. That said, interestingly, people I’ve worked with find it surprising how different they are at work versus with friends and family; this disparity between how different we are in certain social/work contexts can make it harder for us to recognize interpersonal challenges and to know when to find guidance around our work behaviour. So, ironically, the very same friends and family we go to outside of work for guidance may never see it.

Starting out of the gate, being in business with other people sounds great, right? Synergy! Adrenaline! But, let’s face it, starting a business takes hundreds of hours before anyone can really know how prosperous it will be. There are bound to be disagreements, even differences in philosophy. It can go deeper than that: what if your fellow founder has a habit of disappearing in the middle of the day without saying where they’re going? What if you find yourself becoming defensive and angry when someone is innocently seeking clarity on some bit of innocuous budget details? We ultimately reach a point where we stop and admit to ourselves that same mantra: it shouldn’t be this hard.

Have you thought about Business Therapy?

Business Therapy is an initiative of mine to help people in business with each other (typically founders) find ways to work with issues that go beyond the nitty gritty of keeping the lights on. It is structured in a way that is flexible and open-ended, and catered to your partnership’s needs, but is careful to look at all the angles. I draw from my extensive experience working with individuals and couples from many walks of life, my training and independent study in fields such as sports psychology, relational coaching and insight mediation, as well as from my twenty-year history of project management (and other assorted hats) prior to changing careers over a decade ago.

What kinds of issues can this address?

Relationships • Accountability • Communication Issues • Mediation • Anger Management • The Meeting No One Seems To Want To Have • Workplace Compliance • “Let’s Make A Deal”, among other challenges.

Note: if you’re looking for a business strategy/growth consultant, I would look elsewhere.

What’s my style?

Informal, curious and conversational. I’m not a financial analyst, however I care about the success of your company as well as the mental and emotional well-being of those who make up the ownership. While that might all sound straight-forward enough, sometimes those two things — success and well-being — can come into conflict with each other. I would like to know more. I want to hear about you and your partner(s), see how you are together in the same room, what you have to say and how you say it. As well as team sessions, having one-on-one breakout sessions can also allow you, as individuals, to share more delicate aspects of your lives — family background, substance use, good ol’ childhood trauma — the sorts of things you may not want to spring on your business partners without getting a handle on it first. Unlike individual psychotherapy, which has a fairly standard structure, the way and shape of Business Therapy truly comes down to the situation at hand.

Sound interesting? If you’d like to arrange for a session, or to get more information on how this might apply to your organization, please feel free to get in touch.

Another note: my no-charge initial consultation does not apply to Business Therapy. Thanks for understanding.