Understanding shady characters

Although hardly anyone states it so bluntly, one thing you want to know about the other party in a negotiation is whether you can trust the information that person gives you. What is this person’s reputation for honesty and accuracy?
If you are trying to negotiate efficiently, you must find out the general trustworthiness
of the assertions from the other side.
Sometimes you hear that someone is not dishonest, just ignorant, inefficient,or inexperienced. These qualities may sound better than dishonesty, but theyhave the same consequence to you. As a negotiator, you can’t afford to blindlyaccept anything that such a person says to you.
A different but highly related issue is whether you can trust the client representedby the person with whom you are negotiating. Even if you trust thenegotiator, you may feel that you need to be extra-careful in dealing with theparty on the other side of the negotiating table.
The best advice I can offer is not to do business with a person you don’t trust.No lawyer in the world can protect you from someone determined to do youin, cheat you, or steal from you. No cop or security system in the world canprotect your house from a sufficiently determined thief. President Kennedyonce prophetically observed, “There is no Secret Service agent who canguarantee a president’s life, if someone is willing to give their own life inexchange.”
Sometimes you are forced to do business with someone you don’t trust. Insuch a case, be sure to focus on the parts of the contract that will protectyou if something goes wrong. Decide where a lawsuit would be filed and inwhich courts. Your lawyer can be a big help here. Make provisions for whenand how you can check the books for accuracy. In such a case, you must preparea much more detailed contract than you normally would.
Having clauses that protect you is always important in case you come tohonest differences that you did not anticipate. Such clauses are the specialprovince of an experienced attorney. For example, if someone is to pay youmoney under a contract, you want a fast and certain way to collect in case ofdefault. The negotiator who does not consider this aspect of the deal is notdoing a good job. Negotiating for big payments is futile if the payments are,as a practical matter, uncollectible. You may want to insist that all fundsunder negotiation be held in a special account until the contract is finalized.
If you want to include clauses to protect yourself but can’t get the otherparty to agree, you must decide whether you want to do business with thisperson. Listen carefully to why the other party is not willing to provide certainmechanisms that put your mind at ease about payment. If that personinsists on maintaining an unfair out, think twice before entering into theagreement. Be clear in expressing the importance of these provisions and
why you must have them.
If everything else seems good about a deal, walking away based on thesepoints can be difficult. The other side knows that and will often turn the issue into a trust test: “If you trust me, you’ll make this deal with me.” Look such a person right in the eye and say, “I trust you well enough to enter this deal.
But I don’t know what good or bad fortune is going to visit you over the next year while I need steady payments. You may quit the company (or sell your business). You may get killed. I just don’t know what the future holds.”