“Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go.”

Have you ever used a throwaway line you’ve regretted? I have, and it came back to bite me right in the butt.

During the final throes of handover during the sale of my business, the unwise line fell out of my big mouth: “If you’re ever stuck, give me a shout and I’ll help you out.” Well, the call came recently. I could hardly say no, although I thought about it.

A former employee who handled a large account with a guy who is, shall we say, extremely awkward had left suddenly. Because of the difficult nature and complexity of the client’s business needs, the new owner had kept his distance and let my former employee run the show.

My task was twofold: get the new owner up to speed on the nuances of dealing with the guy, and smooth the path with introductions and a bit of hospitality to reminisce about our past business adventures. The goal was to keep him on side with the changes—a bit of ego massaging over his importance and value as a customer.

So I found myself back to the grindstone and in the thick of it, sucking up to an “important” client. I have to say, I didn’t enjoy the experience and although my head was in the game, my heart certainly wasn’t. I really found it difficult to get my “game face” on and care about the outcome. But I endeavoured to be professional and things went well. My input over the week left the new owner in a better position.

The positive takeaway for me is an absolute validation of my decision to sell up and retire. Although I knew it was the right choice for me, it’s nice to have the opportunity for confirmation. The negative takeaway is a reluctant agreement to revisit my paid consultant role for a few weeks in the run-up to corporate tax reporting season early next year.

It seems the invisible ties that bound me to the business I created nearly thirty years ago are reluctant to release their grip. I would find it hard to see it stumble even slightly if my input helped, but where to draw the line? That’s the question.