You can’t negotiate honesty. You can’t contract loyalty. You can’t build anything real with someone who lies for a living. Yet, every day, smart people convince themselves otherwise — and they get burned.
Here’s the truth: If someone’s rotten, no contract, no handshake, no amount of “mutual benefit” will fix it. A bad person will always find a way to turn the deal against you.
Bad People Don’t Play by the Rules
You think you’ve covered all the bases. You think the paperwork protects you. It doesn’t. Bad people don’t respect rules — they look for ways around them. They stall, they lie, they threaten lawsuits, they create drama out of thin air. Meanwhile, you’re stuck wasting time, money, and energy just trying to hold the line.
A good deal needs basic trust. If you don’t have that, you’re not making a deal — you’re inviting a war.
They Show You Who They Are — Believe It
We’ve all seen the warning signs. The little lies. The stories that don’t add up. The way they trash-talk former partners. We notice, but we rationalize. “It’ll be different with me,” we think. It won’t.
If they screwed over someone else, they’ll screw over you. If they bend the truth casually, they’ll break it when it counts. Don’t fall for charm. Don’t get blinded by opportunity. Watch how they move, not what they say.
The Hidden Price Tag
Even if you survive the initial deal, you’re paying a tax every day: stress, distrust, second-guessing every email, every call. You hire extra lawyers. You add layers of protection. You spend more time watching your back than building forward. That’s the real cost of dealing with bad people.
And it gets worse. Word travels. Aligning yourself with a known scumbag puts a permanent stain on your reputation. Good people stop wanting to work with you. Great opportunities pass you by. Why? Because they assume you either didn’t know — or worse — you didn’t care.
It’s Not About Being Nice. It’s About Being Smart.
Walking away from a bad person isn’t some moral victory. It’s a business decision. You can’t beat someone who doesn’t care about playing fair. You’re better off missing out on a deal than spending years cleaning up someone else’s mess.
Good partners make problems easier to solve. Bad ones turn minor issues into full-blown disasters. Every. Single. Time.
Bottom Line:
If you have to wonder if you can trust them, you already have your answer.
If you catch yourself making excuses for their behavior, stop.
If the deal smells funny, walk away — before you’re the next cautionary tale.
You can’t make a good deal with a bad person. Period.
