2 Reject the buyout bid. Providing Keldine with a future, even if uncertain because of its resistance to change, is more important than accepting what may be the best offer ever received.

It seemed like a great deal for Kevin Haley, the retired managing partner of a small accounting firm, when he took the job. To sit on the board of Keldine Technologies, all he had to do was listen to some general talk about the company at bi-monthly meetings, vote on operations issues and collect a nice fee. He did not worry about his lack of expertise in the company's business of manufacturing transistors, because 'nothing ever changed at Keldine'.