Some deals aren’t worth making. Not because the numbers are wrong, but because the person is. Bad people don’t just make bad deals – they eventually wreck good ones.

Warren Buffett has said it in plain words: “You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.”

He isn’t against contracts or due diligence, but you can write 10 pages of rules, and a bad actor will still look for page 11. They will smile, sign, and then search for a weakness in the contract.

So the smartest move is often the simplest one: walk away. Peace of mind is not negotiable.

Charlie Munger, Buffett’s longtime partner, learned that early. As a boy in Omaha, he watched his father work as a lawyer. Charlie once asked why his dad did so much work for a difficult, overreaching client, and so little for a good, honest businessman named Grant McFadden.

His father explained the difference. Grant treated employees well and customers well. He was fair, even when he could have squeezed someone. His books were clean, his promises were plain, and his words still meant something. When trouble showed up, Grant fixed it fast. He wasn’t the best client for Charlie’s father because good behavior doesn’t lead to many lawsuits.

The dishonest man was a great client. He argued, blamed and pushed past the limits of normal. He promised what he couldn’t deliver, leaving angry people and messy records behind. Wherever he went, friction followed. Friction turned into complaints, complaints turned into lawsuits.

Like Munger, I started learning lessons from my own father early in life.

My father started a business selling water softeners and filtration systems. He partnered with a man who seemed successful, but he had many character flaws.

Still, the business grew fast across the Midwest and the South, and to everyone looking in from the outside, it seemed poised to succeed wildly.

Then the IRS showed up, claiming $500,000 in unpaid taxes. My father insisted they were paid, and he believed they were. But his partner had been taking the money.

He had been embezzling it and hiding it, and my dad was left holding the damage. It nearly ruined him, not just financially, but emotionally.

Later, I learned the same lesson myself. I partnered with someone in my first business. That partner, I discovered, was also embezzling. I saw his character early on and saw some dishonesty, but he also had a lot to offer, so I naively went into business with him.

It was painful, but it left me with a truth I couldn’t unsee:

You can’t “manage” around bad character.

Not long after, in another business I am still running today, I met a Northern California venture capitalist.

He talked in generous terms face-to-face. But when the contracts arrived, the terms changed. Then they changed again. He always had an explanation, but most of my questions were met with dismissive answers, and my concerns were treated like weakness. There was always urgency and lots of pressure to sign. Not just from him, but my partner.

Inside, I struggled. The opportunity looked real, but my gut was screaming no.

After every call, I felt anxious. After every email, I felt more confused. That is not how a healthy deal feels. So I walked away, and I lost my partner, which caused massive setbacks.

Eventually, I bought my partner out and continued on my own.

Later, I heard the rest of the story. Many entrepreneurs regretted doing business with that same VC. Some said their companies were damaged. Some said their dreams were crushed. Avoiding that deal likely saved me, even though it cost me in the short run.

Here’s the test I use now. Don’t judge a deal only by the upside. Judge it by the person.

Pay attention to bait-and-switch tactics, constant pressure and casual disrespect. Stress, anxiety and confusion are not just “part of the process.” Sometimes they are a warning.

Walking away is often the hardest move. It is also many times the wisest.

I wholeheartedly agree with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. It’s better to miss a potential opportunity than to make a deal with the wrong person.

• Toby Moore is a Shaw Local News Network columnist, star of the Emmy-nominated film “A Separate Peace” and CEO of CubeStream Inc. He can be reached at feedback@shawmedia.com.