> We live our lives as if they were a business enterprise with a balance sheet, always selling, always advertising, always figuring out how to put our personality on display,
I think this is a very American thing to do. In most other cultures this is not true. Notably the OP is presumably British and my British grand parents most definitely were not "always selling" nor "putting their personality on display".
That would just mean its a zombie company that's going down sooner or later. If making it public makes it fail quicker, that is good thing. Keeping it out of the light and pretending its a good company just prolongs the inevitable.