Another week

It has been a funny old week. In the political world nothing of significance has changed, my concerns are just as they were and there is nothing to suggest matters will improve. In fact while this interminable leadership wrangle goes on they can only get worse in my opinion.

Today I had a long conversation with a business associate who is involved with a couple of projects I am doing. Both of them started several years ago before my transition. We were discussing our respective approaches. The conclusion was that we have complementary skills. He said the trouble is you are a woman. You get too emotionally involved and want to make everything right! A very male point of view.

He talked about nature nurture and his view is we are all what we are born with and that all nature does is develop or hinder what we arrive with. He sees himself as having a 75/25 male female brain. His feminine side facilitates his people skills, how he talks to people. His male side allows him to be structured.

Another significant difference is that I have had a professional background and the essence of the area of law in which I worked was disputes. The essence of the work is mediation. The ability to get two warring parties to compromise and reach a fair solution. Of course there are times when this is not possible and the parties want their day in court. Essentially when that happens the real winners are the lawyers. My feminine traits, the wish to compromise would have been an advantage. I found often that I would intuitively know what the proper resolution of a dispute should be right from the outset. I was fortunate that I had a partner in the firm who was very analytical and would do the research to get us there. My associate who has always worked in business feels the very essence of a professional background can be a problem. Lawyers give advice but the buck never stops with them. In fact lawyers often hinder deals trying to dot and cross every i and t when the downside is minute. In business you need to assess commercial risks and take decisions. 

Of course it is not as simple as that as everyone is different and are at a different place on the spectrum with their male female balance. It seemed an interesting argument.

Interestingly discussing my past ventures what transpired was my most successful ones were when I had control. It was my vision, I put a plan together and executed it, not because I was a control freak, it was because I was not trying to appease any other interests.

The question of appeasing people has also changed through transition. The more I am at home in my skin the more I do not have to hide, be something I am not. This has enabled me to be more straightforward and be able to say how things are. All I want to do is close off these projects from pre transition times and have a go at one more as the real me putting into practice what I have learned.