Businesses need Grandparents.

My eldest grandson and me. Northumberland.

All successful business start with a conversation and an insight. I guess sometimes those conversations start out as "what business should we start"? but far more often I find they arise from a trusting relationship, a passing comment that takes residence, and a path to an idea. The key, the genesis of the business is a trusting conversation.

So I wonder why we let the business take over. Before we know it, our conversation are structured, agenda driven, outcome focused and time constrained. It's easy to let the business become a martinet - it has so many people on its side. The bank, the customers, legislation, payroll. Before we know it, the joy of the original idea and the excitement it generated has shrivelled and gone quietly home.

One of the eternal joys of grandchildren is that your job as grandparent is to help them grow, not tell them how to grow. Neither do they come back and demand (Well, let's leave Christmas aside....). The joy is i…