The Death of Fear in Business Management

By: Prof. Samuel Lartey

sammylaatey@yahoo.com
Fear of loss, fear of death - business, idea, concept and initiative, fear of not selling, fear of
default, fear of capital, fear of competition, fear of attracting the right staff and the fear of
non-market penetration are all common fears experienced in business management.
Businesses are also challenged with the fears and impact of politics, cash flows, pricing,
innovations, interruptions, reputations, regulations, weak economies, attracting, retaining and
growing talents. Fear is one of the most prevalent forms of mental anxiety disorders that affect
people of all ages and interfere with daily life and business. It must also be mentioned that
there are people who are unable to experience fear. This is not debilitating, but a lack of fear
can allow someone to get into a dangerous situation they otherwise would have avoided.

Business Philosophy has been successful in helping people overcome fear in business
management. Business Philosophers believe that fear is more complex than just forgetting or
deleting memories, an active and successful approach to fear therefore involves people
repeatedly confronting their fears.

Fear is an emotion induced by a threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in
brain function and ultimately a change in behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing
initiatives and events. Fear may occur in response to a specific stimulus happening in the
present, or to a future situation, which is perceived as risk to a business health or peoples life,
status, power, security, wealth or anything held valuable. The fear response usually arises from
the perception/fantasy of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from threat - also
known as the fight-or-flight response, which in extreme cases of fear can be a freeze response
or paralysis.
In an estimate of what people fear the most, a 2014 publication, by Anna Lemind in Psychology
and Health published the top ten fears as follows:
1. Fear of loneliness. Even people, who are characterized by the complete isolation and
antisocial behavior, are afraid of complete solitude. The basis of this fear has to do with the
fact that everyone aspires to be happy. But since initially humans are social animals, it
implies that we can feel happy only when being a part of society. Join a business association
and network. Manage staff attritions and regrettable talent losses.
2. Fear of death. Death anxiety is multidimensional; it covers death of a business/commercial
initiative, idea, concept or business. It also covers "fears related to one's own death, the death
of others, fear of the unknown after death, fear of obliteration, and fear of the dying process,
which includes fear of a slow death and a painful death".
3. Social phobia (fear of public speaking and making business presentations) and agoraphobia
(fear of open spaces). There is no gain saying that, to some extent, we are all afraid to show our
feelings and emotions in front of others. However, for some people such fear becomes
obsessive and turns into a phobia. Most of those who suffer from these fears are people with
imaginative or systematic thinking. People of the first category have an innate creative side
and being the center of attention is a natural thing for them, so the fear of public speaking or of
open spaces arises only in consequence of certain particularities of perception. At the same

time, for people of the second category it is rather a fear of seeming incompetent, ridiculous or
stupid.
4. Fear of butterflies, spiders, rats, cockroaches, snakes, monsters, demons, mirrors, and
others. The common point in all these phobias is that their root lies in an undeveloped
imaginative type of thinking of those people who have an innate imaginative intellect. Such
fears and phobias affect people with an innate imaginative thinking and so-called sensitive
nature, such as actors, artists, models, speakers. These are people who think in images and
emotions rather than logical terms. Such people turn to mirror these scary images when
challenged.
5. Fear of intimacy. This fear occurs not only in 16-year-olds, but is also quite common in 40year-old men and sometimes women. Surprisingly, this fear affects people who have an
increased libido compared with others. However, these people have a complicated sexuality
because of a bad first experience or deep-seated resentments and repressed emotions. When
not well managed, employers and employees will always be challenged with work attitude,
productivity and work outputs.
6. Fear of going crazy. It is a rather uncommon and steady fear, which is experienced mostly by
those who think in abstract terms. Often these are people who aspire to explore the spiritual
world and cognize the universe; they are often interested in religion, philosophy, metaphysics
and physics. These are the people who can give birth to a brilliant idea, even if initially it may
seem a little crazy.
7. Germophobia (fear of bacteria and microorganisms). Surely at least once in your life youve
seen or heard about people who wash their hands dozens of times a day, do house cleaning
several times every day and cannot touch many innocuous objects only because they are afraid
to catch some dangerous virus or bacteria.

8. Fear of being a coward. This is a purely male fear that sometimes is experienced by young
people who have a kind of innate sense of responsibility for others. These people have very
developed managerial skills and an innate charisma. Some women also experience it.
9. Fear of being poisoned. This fear is independent and usually does not correlate with other
phobias. This is because, as a rule, this fear affects people with an intuitive way of thinking.
Some of these people will always ask their subordinates to taste their food before eating it
themselves.
10. Fear of getting old. This fear is quite rare in young people but rather frequent in middleaged women and men, who are over 50 year old. This fear is understandable because at the
biological level the mission of a woman is giving birth and upbringing of children and the
mission of a man is reproduction and providing his family with food and safety.

In your imagination come with me - if you will - to reflect the confessions of the Devil in an
interview with Hill through the power of the mind, religion and fear - A conversation
between two Minds:
Mind 1:
I have uncovered the secret code by which I can pick your thoughts. I have come to engage you
in some very plain conversation. I demand that you give me direct and truthful responses. Are
you ready for the interview?
Mind 2:
Yes, I am.
Mind 1:
Will you kindly describe yourself.to me and tell me your place of abode and physical
appearance?
Mind 2:

I shall describe myself and correct the false notions you earthbound have of me and my place
of abode. I have no physical appearance. I would be handicapped by such an encumbrance as
those in which you earthbound creatures live. I simply consist of negative energy and live in the
minds of people who fear me. I am the negative portion of the entire earth. You should know I
control 98 percent of the people of your world.
Mind 1:
Well, if you occupy 98 percent of the earth who occupies the other 2 percent?
Mind 2:
The other 2 percent is occupied by my opposition. I am sure you can now recognize who I am.
But if you dont, let me introduce myself the more. It is I who worshipped God for thousands of
years. I was the greatest of all servants. My beauty lifted the hearts of the crowds and my light
outshined the stars. I was the most loved. I was adoring all my eminence until your father
Adam was born. I couldnt believe that I the greatest of all creations had to prostrate to an
insignificant human made of clay. Difficult it was - I refused! I said no to the Almighty. For how
long had Adam served Him? Why was Adam given the whole earth to rule? Clearly I deserve it
all! Without a doubt, I am the one to rule and command the earth. Since that day, I became
rebellious - the enemy of God and His faithful servants. God promised me to enter Hell on the
day of judgement and to be held there for eternity. All these happened because of you. I hate
and envy you the same way I envied the father. Since you were born I have been sinfully
harming your life. I will not enter Hell alone. I want to see you in pain and fear. I want to see you
cry, scream, and burn as I will.
I will show you how I enter the heart of mankind to cause pain and fear in your world. I sow the
seeds of fear and negative thought in the minds of people so I can occupy and control the
space! One of my cleverest devices for mind control is fear. I plant the seed of fear in the minds
of people, and as these seeds germinate and grow, through use, I control the space they
occupy.

The six most effective fears that I use are the fear of poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love,
old age, and death. Of all these fears I place my stronghold on the first and the lastpoverty
and death! I plant these fears in the minds of people so deftly that they believe them to be their
own creation. Of course I cannot punish anyone (it is not in my mandate), except in that
persons own mind, through some form of fearbut fear of the thing which does not exist is
just as useful to me as fear of that which does exist.
I want to quickly clear a misconception you might have. Sadly, I have no power to force you to
sin. My strategy to mislead you is very simple. I plant the seed of fear in the minds of the
earthbound. I try to drag you to infidelity, unfaithfulness, and disloyalty. If you are a true
believer and kept steadfast, I dont get discouraged. I call you towards minor sins. If you resist,
and dont get tricked, I then move to plan B which is to call you to major sins like abandoning
your prayers; shying away from the presence of God; adultery; over-eating; causing harm to
your fellow man; getting you to be so busy with the worldly pleasures and pursuing worldly
affairs. I do all these by gradually entering your mind through your human weaknesses and
through what you love most. I make you fear everything but God and except God.

My opposition discovered the power of positive thought, and then began a battle with me to
remain in control. Men, who conceive positive thoughts, are my enemies. As I have told you, I
cannot entirely control any person who thinks. All who inspire people to think and act on their
own initiative and all of who help men take and keep possession of their own minds shall
remain under the protection of my opposition.
End of story.
Corporate Voodoo a book authored by Rene Carayol revealed that the mind is a coward, for
those who listen to it become utterly cowardly. The mind is not an adventurer, it is very
cautious. It takes every step with thinking and calculation until it is certain there is no risk. Until
it has seen others take the risk, until it has seen others taking the step and there has been no
danger; hence listening to the mind is the most disturbing phenomenon of growth. When

everything is going well the mind comes in and says watch out! Because you listen to the
minds fears, you stop living.
The mind would keep you always the same, never taking risks. Newness is an enemy of the
mind, sameness is its friend. To laugh is to risk appearing a fool, to weep is to risk appearing
sentimental. To reach out is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk rejection. To place
your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To
go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure, but risks must be taken because
the greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing.
The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. You may avoid
suffering and sorrow, but you cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. Chained by certitudes
you are only a slave. Only the person who risks is free.