Good question.

It’s certainly not a wife or partner, because they live directly under the  umbrella of protection from rainy days, and it’s a mistake to share any clouds on that horizon. Not a member of the Board either, for an almost identical reason. Surely not a VP or other member of upper management, unless it’s simply a meeting to bat around ideas in the normal course of business. Over a drink with another CEO/owner at your club? God no, can’t let anything other than positive news leak out on the street. Nor is it one of the professional business advisors. They are likely to have a solution in mind that is not in your interests.

So, who then?

Fact is, there’s no good answer for this, which is why people like me exist.

I’m relatively unknown, but with a wide and general knowledge of how business works, probably not so much a ‘solutions guy’ as a sounding board for moving forward with a logical discussion of pros and cons. Pros tend to step out into the sunshine in a freshly pressed suit, with a firm handshake. It’s the cons that lurk in the shadows like a thief in the night. Retired for some time now, I’ve been where you are, and understand both the isolation and need for someone who no longer has an axe to grind, nor a financial interest in exposing your uncertainty.

Having said that, I’m not your guy

But the man (or woman) you need has those talents and is far enough removed from your sphere of influence to be useful.

I’ll bet, if you gave it some thought, you’d come up with a name, or maybe even several. What are the words to that old song? “Everybody needs somebody, sometime.” That’s a song by Dean Martin and Dean was a member of the Rat Pack. How much better credentials can you have than that?

Dean’s gone from us now, but I’ll bet there’s someone out there for you–and you need to find them. Isolation is the main threat to clear-headedness in business.