I do a lot of e-comm work and it always gives me a good laugh me when people say things like they want to build another FB or eBay and need it this week for $1,000. OK

I recommend to everyone that they read Getting to Yes. As far as I know it is essential reading in every law and MBA school in North America but it is about much more than that. I try to read it once a year and it is an easy read and only about 100 pages. It provides common sense strategies for achieving agreement with your spouse about what take out to get, your kids on what time they go to bed or a multi-national about how much they are going to pay for your business.

Often times I have been working for someone that has been selling their business and, after many questions, I have found out things like that they want to be seen to have received a "better" deal than their brother-in-law who sold a similar business. Or that they have the same hairdresser and do not want negative gossip. The tax and financial issues of a deal are usually not more important that the emotional aspects. But getting to those fundamental issues, that are usually seen as ancillary, is tough.