While on a business trip to Defiance, Ohio, USA in 1987, my brother Varinder and I met again with Randall a friendly but tough business prospect, who was co-owner of a large manufacturing company.
The day was spent on negotiations and drawing up contracts etc. requiring much secretarial work.
Randall desperately needed a secretary and constantly bemoaned that he was overworked, doing so many things that a good secretary could easily and efficiently handle.
That evening Randall invited us for dinner and his charming wife Cheryl who worked as a secretary to the CEO of another large company joined us. Dinner was entertaining and educative having discussed a wide range of subjects.
The next day Randall started moaning again about his need for a secretary.
Unable to contain myself, I asked Randall, if he had considered asking his wife Cheryl to join his company as a secretary? It just seemed so straightforward and so perfect a solution.
Aghast, Randall responded, "Cheryl would be a perfect fit, but its a terrible idea. I love my wife but if she joins my company, its guaranteed that within six months I will be working for her. She will simply take over and I don't need that. Logic does not work when dealing with a wife."
We all laughed not realising the immense value of the voice of experience, until many years later.
Much later, I discovered, women often take over any area of activity they are involved in. Its not evil or scheming but natural instinct that drives women to subtly and cleverly always take control, if given the slightest opportunity.
Like a river wears out the toughest boulder, women have the capacity to wear down the resistance of men. Eventually desperate for comfort, peace of mind and piece of flesh, a man caves in.
A wise woman often knows her own limitations and strength of her man. She will support and cooperate with her man.
For men, ego and stature are extremely important. For a woman, control is paramount.
Women believe that, left to himself man the impulsive and emotional creature might pose a danger to himself and the family.
A clever woman satisfies her man's ego, making the man feel that he is in charge. All this while, getting him to do more or less what she wants. This is the ultimate secret of a healthy, strong and productive business partnership, involving every couple, involved in any male-female relationship particularly married couples.
Now we live in a society tending towards hyper masculine aggressive females and effeminate and timid males. This has made humanity ugly and unpleasant.
Is it any surprise that many modern women have given up all pretense of playing second fiddle to men. The result is weak and unsustainable relationships breaking off at the first sign of stress.
Men and women now generally experience a string of short term, unhappy encounters and relationships. Nowadays both men and women often land up playing alone, smug, unloved, lonely and miserable.
Each one of us, we are made up of a combination of the masculine and the feminine characteristics. Nature is a balance of the two, hence couples together in harmony are productive and manifold stronger.
The masculine is like thunder and lightening, aggressive and powerful, while the feminine is seductive like the earth and the rain.
Thunder and lightening may be impressive, but its the earth and the rain that grows the food and the flowers.