The December commentary discusses the difficulties associated with rating a deal maker according to the record shown on their deal sheet and, in particular, rating a person who has been active in deal making but has never yet successfully concluded a deal. The problem here is that failure is not something one associates with success. One looks at the deal sheet and concludes that this person is inept at negotiating a deal. But is this right? A lot of deals are 'not to be', and good deal makers conclude quality deals but walk away from deals that they know will not work for them or the other party.

A deal sheet is usually a record of all the deals that you have been involved with. Many investment bankers, consultants, and business development and licensing executives keep deal sheets as a record of their successes. In my time I have seen a significant number of deal sheets from people who want to join PharmaVentures. Obviously a long deal sheet of successfully completed transactions is a real asset that defines and differentiates the true ability of the deal maker. It is natural therefore to rate someone's ability on the basis of the number of deals completed. So how should you rate a person who has been active in deal making but has never yet successfully concluded one? The problem with this concept is that failure is not something one associates with success. One looks at the deal sheet and concludes that this person is inept at negotiating a deal. However, those of you who know my views on deal making also know that I am a great fan of the deals that never happen - or dare I say - fail to happen. So my first reaction is not negative but rather curious when I meet someone who honestly and frankly says to me that, although they have been involved in many attempts to do deals, they have never successfully completed one. To me what is important is why they never concluded the deal and, more importantly, when did they terminate discussions? "So how should you rate a person who has been active in deal making but has never yet successfully concluded one? The problem with this concept is that failure is not something one associates with success. One looks at the deal sheet and concludes that this person is inept at negotiating a deal." A lot of deals are 'not to be'. Successful deal making is about concluding a deal with the right partner under terms that are a true win-win for both parties. There are lots of deals signed that turn out to be disasters for both sides. Good deal makers conclude quality deals but walk away from deals that they know will not work for them or the other party. So some people's deal sheets make look impressive, with a long list of concluded deals - but how many of those deals actually turned out to be truly successful? In the end I rate a deal maker by both the ability to win quality deals with good outcomes as well as the ability to walk away early from potential deals that don't make sense. Furthermore, there are lots of deals that never happen because external factors impacted and terminated negotiations - factors such as a company takeover, a change in strategy, a change in management, etc. So, in my view, good deal makers have a strong record of both concluded and non-concluded deals. -Fintan Walton, Chief Executive Officer, PharmaVentures Ltd.