The key to Sheridan Associates lay in the firm's first commandment: Never win too big or too fast. A quick campaign only meant that the client got off cheap, Sheridan reminded us again and again. A big win was worse. Enthusiastic young consultants like myself liked to trounce the union, thus proving our prowess and, we figured, our worth to the company. But Sheridan frowned on landslides. To him, a lopsided election only meant the loss of a client. NLRB statistics showed that if a union won at least 30 per cent of the vote, half the time it would return for a second organizing attempt, usually within a year. That could mean yet another counter-organizing job for Sheridan. To Jack, then, the closer the vote count the better. If the company barely squeaked by the union, he lectured, corporate execs would be convinced that the consult ants had been necessary and would pay their bill gratefully. What's more, they would be likely to purchase a few months' worth of Sheridan's postelection management training package and call on Sheridan in the case of a renewed union attack. On the other hand, a big victory could start the company men wondering if they could have just as easily won the fight themselves. Maybe the union never had a chance, they would think, in which case Sheridan's bill for $60,000 would be pretty hard to swallow. "Don't kick the union 's ass," was Sheridan 's refrain. To do our job right, then, we had to beat the union and make it look hard.