The 5 P's And The Art Of Saying 'NO!'
One of the things I have always found difficult when it comes to deciding what bits of new business to take on, is how to say ‘No!’
When I was running an agency, we were fortunate enough to be in a position whereby there was never a shortage of new business opportunities on the table. Now, running my own consultancy business , I’m pleased to say the same is true.?
I am a naturally enthusiastic person – I get excited speaking to entrepreneurs, hearing about their ideas and listening to their various business challenges.?It is my natural inclination to want to help and be a part of what they are doing.?I’ve learnt over the years, however, that you only have limited capacity, and whilst you might want/think you can take on the world, in reality, if you want to do the best possible job, deliver great results and enjoy what you are doing, then it is important to understand what to take on and what to decline. There is definitely an art in learning how to stop saying 'Yes!' and learning how to say 'No!' - ?This got me thinking, and I decided to develop a set of 5 criteria to help me decide whether I should take on a new business opportunity...or not.
The 5 P’s: HOW TO STOP SAYING 'YES!' AND LEARN HOW TO SAY 'NO!'
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My intention is to use the 5 P’s as a checklist before I decide to take on any new work. Ideally, I’d like to tick more than one box.?At least 2.?Maybe more??Let’s see.
I thought I would share this in case others who suffer with the same challenge as me find it useful. Hopefully, it will help you to stop saying ‘Yes!’ and learn how to say ‘No!’ I’d love to hear any other tips and advice people have on the subject.
UPDATE: Further to to some feedback on my post via Twitter, I think I'm going to add a 6th 'P' which I really like...
6. PEOPLE - Are these the kind of people I want to work with? Do I like them?
Creator Partnership Marketing & Publicity
3 年Great piece Andrew. As someone who has worked in multiple in-house and agency roles, I most definitely see a behavior where not every piece of work is the right fit and the people pleasing begins and just never stops. It's not fair to either party. As someone who specifically used to hire agencies for their insight and expertise, and wanted them to challenge our thinking, I wish this was more prevalent - along with a degree of honesty which would pave the way for success and results on both ends.
Founder of Wilderness PR
3 年I love this
Director at HOB Salons
3 年My interpretation of the 5p’s has always been preparation,prevents,piss,poor,performance
PR & Content Director
3 年Fab piece very interesting especially as I'm looking for new opportunities at the moment and want to stay focused on that will work best with some other little people priorities to juggle.
I absolutely love this and agree with your P's. Thanks for sharing Andrew. For me, the addition of P6 is vitally important!