Team Work

Sheena (my business partner and girl friend) and I have had trouble connecting lately to have a much needed meeting on the strategic direction of the company. I would love to say that we've been really busy (which we have been) and believe that this is the reason why we haven't met. However, we've been following this pattern for a few months now.

More realistically, the reason is that we have difficulty having strategic meetings without getting into arguments or prematurely ending the meeting. As a result, I think we are both subconsciously avoiding having the crucial meetings because we want to avoid the stress of arguments.

Having a relationship with a loved one (family or significant other) is very interesting. On the one hand, we have a trust and interrdependence that it would be extremely difficult to have with anybody else. We're so intertwined that a win for her is truly a win for me and vice-versa. On the other hand, as a result of being so close, we take liberties with each other that business partners wouldn't normally make. Small issues that shouldn't be brought up are brought up. For example, during one meeting it was particularly annoying to me that Sheena was biting her nails. I knew it shouldn't bother me and so I didn't say anything, but the annoyance kept on growing until I finally said something. Asking her to not bite her nails got her angry and then an argument ensued. Looking back, it's comical that such a small thing could blow up.

Things don't tend to be so-so. For reasons that I don't fully understand, they are either better than ever or let's just say, "other than better than ever."

But in the end, we are both committed and our relationship is improving and in so doing we're each going through major personal growth that affects the business and our lives.