Marriage....One of the most important business decisions you will ever make

People may not want to admit it, but marriage is one of the biggest business decisions you will ever make in your life. It is very similar to a corporate merger. The two organizations (or two individuals) combine assets and liabilities to make an efficiently ran new unit. One organization may be weak in one area where the other has strength. For example, one organization may have strong worldwide brand recognition but may have a mature product or service and another organization may not have great brand recognition but a more diverse and dynamic group of new products and services. On the individual level, one individual may have great credit but no real assets and the other individual may have bad credit but may have a large accumulation of financial assets.

Companies looking to merge normally utilize an outside firm to gauge the financial health of each other. With individuals, the topic of financial health is more often visited on an informal basis. But it should be discussed formally. Finding a “skeleton in the closet” would not behoove the marriage. Creditworthiness, assets, liabilities, growth potential and a host of other important factors should be made known to both parties before the unity.

From a company or individual standpoint, being in an acquisition can present a great challenge. In the corporate situation, the executive management of the acquired organization rarely stays in its same capacity. The acquired organizations corporate culture and corporate norms rarely cease to exist after the acquisition. Most often processes and systems will need to be converted to the processes and systems of the acquirer.

I define an acquisition situation on the individual level as one in which one person has a drastically more favorable financial situation than his or her partner. This could mean one or a combination of the following: credit, assets, liabilities, and growth potential. There could be two major drawbacks of an acquisition situation. 1.) The acquirer person might develop some resentment towards the acquired person and ultimately may not see himself or herself as an equal (superiority factor) 2.) The acquired person might develop a feeling of being looked down upon and ultimately may not see himself or herself as an equal (inferiority factor). Or a combination of both may occur. The acquisition situation may work, but the drawbacks mentioned have to be kept "top of mind".

The biggest difference between a marriage and a corporate merger is that, with a marriage you have to have more than your finances in alignment. Love should be omnipotent. But finances do matter. Love doesn't pay the bills. The number one reason for divorce in the United States of America is money. Need I say more.......