Deal Breaker

You’re the president of Manny’s Mealworms, a company that manufactures fishing tackle. Tuffy’s Trout has been in negotiations to buy your company. At first, the million-dollar deal sounds appealing. You start shopping online for Porsches. But as negotiations continue, you learn something devastating. Fifty percent of your employees will be laid off once the merger is complete.

You love your employees. They love you. Every day is like a singing revue of a Barney episode. So this firing half the force? Yeah, it's a deal-breaker. You refuse to proceed unless 100 percent of your employees’ jobs are protected.