Articles by Tom Golisano
When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Use an Ultimatum in NegotiationPaychex started as a small local payroll processing business but grew through partnerships and franchises to include 17 owners across several states by 1979. The founder, B. Thomas Golisano, saw that it was time to consolidate into a single corporation. However, determining each owner's stake in the new company posed significant challenges given their large egos and differing views of their worth. Golisano realized direct negotiations would be impossible since details would spread and already-negotiated owners would want to renegotiate. His only option was to establish a non-negotiable situation. Interestingly, while Golisano normally agreed one shouldn't use ultimatums in negotiation, he felt it was necessary in this case to get all 16 owners and himself to agree on consolidation into a single corporation.