The Harbour Pilot

The human mind is a funny thing… Built over the physical structure of the brain, with its trillions of neurons and synapses, and its bafflingly complex neurotransmitter soup, the mind is organized chaos. Well, sometimes mine is organized, other times, you take your chances…

At various times, the balances of the chemical soup changes, and after a time, so does the wiring of the neurons and their networks. In the life cycle of many human beings, one of these changes is subtly profound. This change is becoming a parent. While the effects vary from person to person, there are some fairly predictable phases. Amongst these is the spiking of neuroactive hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin. In some mammals, these chemicals induce a bonding or imprinting facility between parent and child. The evidence for this is not controversial in women – it has been studied thoroughly. Less well known or researched is the similar effect on men. Homo sapiens ship with the capability of forming emotional and psychological bonds with other entities, notably children.

In order to do this, a number of capabilities are present. One of these is the ability to form empathetic representations in our own heads of the objects of such bonds. We actually model our children in our own minds, learning to interpret the individual communication traits and personalities of infants to guide our interactions with them. Of interest, research indicates that the bulk of this communication is initiated by the child, and responded to by the parent – and not the opposite. Of course, there is the potential for over-involvement and even boundary management issues as the child grows. These can be painful transitions for the parent.

So why are we discussing this?

The same capability is available for objects other than children. The reports of artists, painters, authors and research scientists is pretty clear – they also use the same set of capabilities to interact with their work. So do independent business owners and entrepreneurs. The business often is the brainchild and infant of the person who started it. The business interacts with its parent – teaching it what it needs (often with the equivalent of a temper tantrum). While the business owner has an image of what the business might be – even should be – the business often makes up its own mind, and develops in its own unique fashion.

Which brings us back to the question at hand. Parents can experience tremendous stress in handling the threats to their children’s welfare. Business owners experience enormous stress in handling the challenges that are thrown at their venture – out of proportion to the actual event. Amongst these stressors are

• the loss of a key person in the organization
• the rejection by a key client of the firm’s product or services
• the lack of resources for the business to grow

At their most extreme are repeated or chronic medical interventions or hospitalizations, and even death. Such circumstances induce a form of post-traumatic stress disorder and grief in parents. This also occurs with businesses.

The point is simply that the same kinds of stresses that one can associate with parenting a child can also be observed in parenting a business. It is part of the creative process that is involved in writing a book, painting, sculpting, a musical composition, parenting, and business.

Bear in Mind
Parenting a business is a creative process that can induce stresses analgous to parenting a child

Question ?
Do you believe that a hired general manager typically experiences identical stresses to an entrepreneur?