“It’s Not Personal, It’s Business” (And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves)

If you’ve got kids, you know your brain eventually starts running entirely on Disney movie quotes.

I’ve got five. Which means for the last 20 years, my inner monologue has been an endless loop of animated wisdom. 

So when I hear “It’s not personal, it’s business,” my brain immediately cuts to that Lego Movie moment…

Said with all the mean-spirited energy of someone about to superglue your dreams together forever.

(if you don’t get that reference, watch the movie, kids or not, it’s highly entertaining for all ages!)

But that original line sounds very professional, right?

And sometimes? Total garbage.

Story #1 – The Firing:

I was managing a client’s team when one member just… stopped working. 

Shifts were getting ghosted, tasks weren’t getting done and the submitted billable hours…well, let’s just say evidence suggested they were “questionable.”

The call was obvious. They had to go. 

But when confronted, instead of owning it, they pulled the “we’re friends” card. Some flattery sprinkled with a little charm, and a heaping side of guilt. 

The message felt like an emotional buffet.

I’m not an uncompassionate person, and it’s certainly not how I would have liked things to go down BUT…

Friendship doesn’t erase missed work and falsified timesheets.  

Hours worked = Paid hours. 

Done.

Story #2 – The Conversation:

Then there was the flip side, a client relationship that had gotten stressful. 

Misaligned expectations, tense calls, the kind of meetings you dread like a PTA fundraiser you were coerced into volunteering for and forgot about until the morning of. 

I could’ve walked, but this relationship mattered too much to me. 

So I started the hard conversation. The one that makes your heart pound and your palms sweat, but you push through anyway.

Things were said. Accountability was taken. 

We worked through it all and came out with more trust, more clarity, and a stronger friendship and working relationship.

Key Takeaway:

Business is personal when it’s your business. 

Your name, your reputation, and your energy are tied to every decision, so pretending there’s some neat little line between the two is wishful thinking.

Sometimes you hold the line to protect the business because if you don’t, the work suffers, the team suffers, and ultimately you suffer. 

Other times you lean in to protect the relationship because some clients, team members, or partners are worth having the uncomfortable conversation for. 

The real art is in reading the situation, taking a breath, and deciding which side of the line this moment belongs on. 

And yes, that decision might look different tomorrow depending on the context.

Weekly Challenge:

Look at one sticky situation you’ve been avoiding. Ask yourself:

• Is this a boundary moment?
  
• Or a conversation moment?

Want help sorting it? 

Check out my Think Like a CEO bot on my website and let it walk you through a decision filter for these kinds of situations. No guilt trips or second-guessing. 

And if you want to see more of what this bit can do in action, join me live on August 21st at 1pm EST for my webinar, How To Use AI to Run Your Business Like a CEO Without Burning Out.

Now, share this to the founder friend who swears “it’s not personal” while very much taking it personally.