I continue to see it on an ongoing basis. You meet someone who seems like they’d be a great partner or employee. You have lunch with them. You interview them. You call their references. Everything checks out. They seem intelligent, engaging and capable. Then you take it to the next step – you begin negotiating with them or you work with them on a complex and stressful project, and you quickly realize that they are not as connected with reality as you initially thought. In fact, you begin to think that they are self-delusive, or just plain crazy in one or many ways. But then again, you’re not so sure … they appeared so grounded and sane in your initial interactions. You begin to wonder whether you’ve lost touch with reality. So you describe the situation or interaction to people you trust, both your friends and other disinterested parties to make sure you are getting an objective opinion. When all or most of the opinions you respect come back the same, you realize that you are correct – the person you’re dealing with is nuts. When this happens, don’t waste any time; figure out the most practical and expeditious way to distance yourself from this person, permanently. Trust me on this one, if you don’t, you will waste all kinds of time, money and other resources in dealing with this person. Don’t do it. Just get rid of them as quickly and decisively as possible..
