President of the Adizes Institute and is recognized by Leadership Excellence Journal as one of the top thirty thought leaders of America.

Marrying the Nanny

01/20/2016 03:36 pm ETUpdated
Jan 19, 2017

I am reading the New York Times (Come Back, Mary Poppins November 22, 2015) about the phenomena that a big number of movie actors divorced their wives for the nanny. This reminded me of a phenomena I noticed with founders of companies.

My experience with founders of companies is that the company is not a mistress that takes them away from home and the family. The company is a child they have given birth to.

They had a period of "pregnancy" when they were dreaming about what they will do. Then they took the plunge, quit their job, took a loan, andfar fifty-two. She gives up the husband and keeps the baby and that is what happens with a founder of a company too.

He just "gave birth to his company." Problems galore for a start-up. Cash flow problems, inventory problems, quality problems... when he comes home exhausted and the wife wants to have fun he is not able to respond. Then she starts to complain that since he started the company he has no family life anymore, etc. etc. etc.

She sees the company as a mistress, not as a child he has given birth to.
If she puts ongoing pressure and he has a choice: the wife or the company, whom does he chose?

The company, his baby, and he divorces the wife and marries...the secretary.

Why the secretary? Because she is