Rough notes for a blog on relationships … different dynamics of business-based relationships and love-based relationships, why they are fundamentally different and therefore warnings on “doing business with friends.”

Relationships

Business

Employer-employee, client-contractor, principal-agent, company-customer, etc
Both look for a fixed trade that each determines is beneficial
-limited in time
-limited in scope
-entity-entity
-may be spelled out in contract
-material exchange
-NOT on equality, the exchange is 2 different things: “I have A, you want A; you have B, I want B”

LOVE

Friend-friend, family-family, partner-partner, etc
-infinite
-no scope
-human-human
-continuously generated in language, often not in signed/written contract because it is infinite
-non-material, emotional exchange
-ON equality: equal exchange: “I want your respect; you want my respect”

Pillars of love:

Serve: give and receive, ask for ask to
Share: vulnerability, celebration
Believe: in them, in them believing in me … faith … unconditional championship … benefit of the doubt