A great chorus from the play The Book of Mormon is, “You’re making things up again, Arnold” followed by, “You’re stretching the truth again And you know it.”
I was reminded of this recently when we had a business seller and a buyer both make up unbelievable scenarios.
- The seller ruminated all weekend about how disrespectful the buyer was to him. Yet the buyer was betting on him to keep running the company for a few years (while holding some equity).
- The buyer (different deal) convinced himself the seller would leave him high and dry after closing (disappearing),even though there will be a transition agreement.
A call with the respective other party got them both to get real.
Not that this is new. In our books there’s a story about a business buyer who had nightmares because he convinced himself theseller was sabotaging the customer relationships so the buyer wouldn’t have any customers after closing. All it took was reminding him it made no sense because what if the deal didn’t You’re Making Things Up Again
When the Imagination runs wild the above is what can happen, which is why half our value to clients is the intangible (being a quasi-therapist).
“Don’t be a fibbing Fran, Arnold.” Joseph Smith character in the Book of Mormon
“An idle mind with enough time on their hands is far worse than a politician.” Don Santo
