Quote Originally Posted by Bob Ross View Post
I love to tell this story about saying "no" in business because it involves the only metric business cares about (aka, $$$). A quarter century or so ago I got promoted to an upper management position at an audio-visual production company. I'd spent the previous 6 or 7 years working for this company as an audio engineer, so I was quite familiar with how the business worked, what our clients wanted/needed, and what the pain-points in terms of fulfillment were. A year or two prior to my promotion my predecsssor had implemented an explicit policy: "We Say 'No' To Nothing!" Basically whatever the client wanted, we did, no questions asked.

The very first thing I did upon taking over that position was announce that our corporate mantra was no longer "We Say 'No' To Nothing!" ...from now on it would be "Know When To Say 'No'!"

Revenue was up 20% after just one year of this new policy.
:dancing banana:
Precisely. I found it’s helped me professionally, as now my customers and co-workers can trust me. IE, if I say I’ll handle it… it’s going to happen. If I say “no,” that’s usually followed by reprioritization options to make it happen, an explanation of why it can’t happen, or a delayed schedule that fits against current priorities. Two-way trust is the key. Say no, but politely…