Bigger Than Business Guiding Leadership Principles For Times of Uncertainty (with Sunny Vanderbeck). Welcome to Bigger Than Business, where you’ll discover real world stories of business owners living their purpose. This is the podcast for anyone who wants their success to be about more than just money.

I gave this talk about difficult times to a group of friends and business leaders a while back. Ever the optimist, I didn’t really think then that another difficult time was headed our way.

Now as we weather the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m sharing this message again in the hopes that you will find it helpful during the storm. Real challenges force us to identify what is really important in our lives: the people that support us, the activities we invest our time in, and the purpose we connect ourselves with.

The most difficult questions to ask end up being the most important ones. They are usually variations on a single question: What are you going to do with my company the day after this transaction closes?

Too many CEOs follow the ostrich plan, sticking their head in the sand in an unconscious effort to avoid bad news, and the responsibility that goes with it. The moment you hear the answer you feared—that a plant will be shut down, or one of your departments will not be needed under the new ownership—you no longer have plausible deniability when your employees take you to task over the consequences.

Choosing a buyer or investor is like choosing a spouse, but with one major difference: Selling your business is usually irreversible.

The typical investment banker-supervised auction process feels a lot like an arranged marriage, where everyone leaves the question of whether this is a truly compatible partnership to chance. Bankers tightly control the meetings in order to deter the parties from speaking candidly and establishing real trust. In their mind you aren’t to be trusted—you might say something that would derail the deal. Bankers will often try to tell you exactly what to say and how to say it, with a lot of emphasis on what the buyer wants to hear.

Imagine yourself in a lunch meeting with a private equity investor. You notice he’s rude to the waiter and to his assistant but treats you like you’re the most important person in the room. It’s reasonable to wonder whether his attitude toward you will change once he gets what he wants—namely, your company. Then you have to work with him for the next five years, and so does the rest of your team.