I think I am a person very susceptible to context. By that I mean that whatever environment I go into I quickly become sensitive to its values, its rules, its ethos, the direction it’s going in, where it’s coming from and the likes. I tune into aspects related to its structure and foundation. I am looking for the power dynamics, who has the control.

I imagine I incline in that direction more than most. Most might enter a situation and instinctively assess how it will benefit them directly; matters of immediate self interest, money in particular, will be paramount. My orientation is more complex. I am less concerned with immediacy. I’m not so bothered about money but completely interested in who, how, or what determines it. The actual money is merely a product of the power. The levers that control the finances are more relevant to my domain.

Being like this can make simple matters complex. Everything becomes a much bigger deal than it would otherwise be. Greater responsibility often ensues. Nevertheless I seem to need that high degree of investment in a situation before I’m able to fire on all cylinders. It partly explains why my most successful years were when the enterprise was my own; when the context, its norms and values were for me to set out and be accountable for. Perhaps I am the archetypal power freak.