What springs to mind when you think of a working like a woman?

I'd really like to know, because last week, I had an intriguing introduction to what could be at The Great British Business Show - and, to quote a nearest and dearest, it's all gone bit woo woo...

Rachel Elnaugh, founder of Red Letter Days and one of TV's Dragons, was talking about her new venture, Imago People TV.  This new business is growing, in part, through what she describes as the magic of collaboration, positive vibrational energy, intention and working in a 'heart-centred' way. These are all qualities firmly rooted, she says, in the feminine - the polar opposite of forecasts and spreadsheets, a traditionally 'masculine' approach.

Rachel's stand was certainly the most creative space in the building - more like a tent with white drapes, soft cushions, a golden buddha and incense drifting lazily into the air – and I asked myself how delegates would have felt if that feminine spirit had infiltrated the rest of the building, ransacking the regimented rows of grey, green and purple-branded stands and knocking the  army of smartly dressed, over-eager leaflet wavers into a more comfortable position on the floor.

As it was, in that environment, it was a strange experience hearing someone talk about working with their inner goddess as a strategy for success. I've been to workshops like that, but never one where anyone was wearing a suit. It felt like a collision of two very different worlds and, I wonder, when the dust from the impact settles, what might have the potential to emerge?

In my opinion, flow in life, be it business or pleasure related, doesn't come from purely masculine or feminine, but rather the combined complementary harmonies of both, equal and opposite, yin and yang. Rachel hadn't ditched the spreadsheets, but she's overlaid them with something more creative and intangible - a faith in the power of something indefinable that she described as magical.

I'm excited by people who question, who are curious, who are prepared to embrace a different perspective – in the words of Anita Roddick, 'open structures that challenge accepted thinking' are the way forwards.

I am also optimistic about the doors that might be opened for both sexes if we create a working environment that stands for creativity, communication, compassion, nurturing the fulfilment of personal potential and the opportunity to invest in long-term, successful collaborations. It's kinder, more human, more congruent with the higher qualities we hold most dear.

In this female business landscape, transparency and openess are key, along with empathy, sensitivity and gentleness – powerful, self-affirming qualities. There's no place here for hidden agendas, ego trips, manipulation and power play – and there's the rub. These 'feminine' organisations can only truly succeed in the spirit in which they were conceived if those involved are genuinely walking their talk.

When it's all about money, the end justifies the means, but if we choose to operate within a heart-centred business, and then fail to embody those innately positive qualities or knowingly subvert them, the backlash has far greater moral and even spiritual implications.

In fact, for anyone working in the realms of energy, intention, intuition and 'magic', it's not out of the ball park to say that undermining those rules is akin to corrupting some fundamental universal principles. Of course, by the same token, you can expect the karmic repercussions to be considerable, but only after integrity has been trampled underfoot or sold to the highest bidder.

And maybe that's just business - but do we want it to be? And if we don't, who do we want to be writing the new rule book?