Why did you write this book?
Over the years, I've seen so many CEOs and entrepreneurs not even consider buying businesses as a strategy for growth.  At first, I thought that they found it too complex, but so many CEOs do such complex things, so that wasn't it.  I realized that it was a fear of the unknown that was stopping them.  They just didn't know what it would feel like to buy a company.  They heard so much about the mega-deals in the media that many just figured it wasn't in their league.  But it is, and this book shares with them how it feels to buy a business, and the steps I went through to do it.

How have people found this book useful?
Entrepreneurs and business leaders new to the world of acquisitions find it helps them set expectations for the process, and to find some best practices they can adopt immediately as they begin to think about buying a business as a growth strategy.  Veterans seem to really like my approach to the interpersonal aspects of working with people in general and see the value far beyond the context of doing a deal.

Is it common to take so long to get the seller to say yes?
This whole process can and often does take months or years.  In particular, when the buyer is reaching out and identifying strategic acquisitions, they will begin to romance firms that were not planning to sell.  In these cases, it will take a long time, especially if the buyer does not want to push the issue by overpaying.  There are other cases where the seller initiates the process, and they generally go faster -- as fast as three to six months.

So how did the doing the deal in the book feel to you?
At many points it tried my patience, as it took so long.  The saving grace was that it wasn't my only growth strategy.  I had many irons in the fire and plenty to do as a CEO.  Once the seller decided it was time to move forward, it was incredibly exciting and represented a big challenge:  To identify if this was a good deal, then buy it at a good price.  Ultimately, at the price we paid, it was a major bet, and there was some anxiety along with all the exhilaration.  It seems big rewards always come with big risks, and the risks all come right away after the deal is done.  Clearly, this was a highpoint of my career as a CEO to date.

Is the book only about buying the business?
The story is about romancing the seller and then buying the business.  But buying a business requires all of the skills that running a business as a CEO requires.  As a CEO, I was always negotiating, thinking about how to best work with other people, crunching numbers, identifying the real motives of others, evaluating ROI of various investments and working to keep my board on my side.  The story shows how I do all of those things, but focused on one particular exercise -- buying Aaron Ashley.  The end of chapter sections called, "Rob's Reflections" and the 15 essays on business are broadly applicable to anyone running a business. 

Is the seller Phil Ginsburg still alive?  If so, did he go blind?
I get this question often.  The good news is that his sight has substantially recovered, and he is still, fully and completely alive. Phil Ginsburg, shown at right.
 

What was the most trying part of the story for you personally?
Without doubt it was the weeks where the deal was about to close, but my bank financing was uncertain.  It's detailed in Chapter 12; Attempted Murder.  The thought of having to tell Phil that we couldn't do the deal after all that we'd done was not pretty, nor was the thought of trying to do the deal without adequate financing and risking the firm.

What three key strategic business practices stem from your experiences in the story?

• Make friends well in advance with anyone from whom you might buy a business or sell a business.  The advantage of an established relationship and the trust that brings is massive.
• Have a clear strategic reason for doing an acquisition in advance, and stick with it.  Doing a deal is exciting and tempting, and one can easily get swept away with things.  If you only work deals that are strategically sound, getting swept away a bit won't land you the wrong deal.
• Test all your assumptions really well.  Crunch the numbers and understand all the fundamentals.  Surprises are your enemy--work hard to smoke them out early on.

What drives you crazy about M&A?

Unrealistic Expectations. Too many buyers and sellers don't understand what a business is worth or how the process works. They waste a lot of time and energy for everyone.

Bad Behavior. Buying and selling businesses is emotional. With emotion, bad behavior often appears. Dealing with this is difficult, draining, and can really hurt the chances of both parties achieving their objectives.

Confusing Guesswork with Facts. Buying and selling a business is a process of discovery of hundreds or thousands of facts and issues. As the onion is unpeeled, people tend to jump to conclusions and fixate on bogus positions or perceptions. That can lead to bad decisions and destructive negotiations.

Faulty Communications. With so much being learned on both sides, using the right communication vehicles in the right way at the right time is crucial. Conversation is very critical which means heavy use of in-person meetings and the phone. Deals don't get done on e-mail alone!

Please tell us three points of advice  for sellers.

• Prepare to sell three years before you want to sell, and run your business at all times as though it might sell in the next 12 months.
• Always know who might really want to buy your business, keep it attractive to them, and keep a personal relationship going with them.
• Get multiple buyers bidding for your business at the time you wish to sell it.

Please tell us three points of advice for buyers.

• Always keep in mind that one of your growth techniques can be acquisitions, and know strategically what business would give you the best jump forward.
• Stay financially healthy and well positioned so you can afford to pay the price for a good company when they come along.
• Build a reputation for being a great buyer, and position yourself so the the companies you most would want to buy think of you as the best (and perhaps only) company they'd like to sell to.

In the book it sounds like you listen to every word you hear and then analyze.  Do you really do that?
In critical business situations and to my clients, I do always listen carefully.  Not just to what is said, but the attitude and emotions behind what is said. I also think about what transpired, and what it means to the relationship.  In negotiating situations, I also carefully control what I say and how I say it.

At the same time, I'm not analyzing everything and everybody around me.  There's a lot of life that goes on that I just take part in, including much of my friendships with people that I also do business with.  Most of my friends and business colleagues feel and know that I'm straight with them and honest in whatever I say.  Being diplomatic doesn't have to mean being dishonest.  Honest doesn't have to mean hurtful or insensitive.

If someone offered you a drink now, would it still be Diet Coke, or would it be Dewars?
We all change.  My default sodas right now are Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Root Beer, with diet 7-Up as a backup.  Dewars has persisted as my favorite hard liquor, even five years after I developed my taste for it, courtesy of Phil Ginsburg.