I was very saddened to read about the passing of Bob Baber and have been asked by the editors of this site to contribute a few comments in my role as Managing Director of the Franchise Relationships Institute. As I did not know Bob it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment about his personal or business situation.

I do however wish to comment on the pressures that people in franchising often find themselves under - both franchisees and franchisor executives. These pressures can involve money, health, relationships and personal pride. When these pressures come one or two at a time, most people cope. However when many things start to go wrong at the one time a natural response is to feel overwhelmed and this can affect our judgment and take us into a downward spiral. There are many things one can do to break this negative spiral.