"I Want it NOW!!"

My youngest daughter is an aspiring thespian. She had a small taste of the limelight last Fall, getting a lead role in a local youth repertory production of, "Shrek The Musical." Yeah, that's a thing. The weeks before audition were loud and proud as she tried different renditions of the songs. This Fall, she's auditioning for a role in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and again our house is abuzz as she belts out Broadway at every possible moment. Scarily, she's taken a liking to Veruca Salt, Roald Dahl's spoiled, impatient, bratty rich girl. Let's hope art isn't imitating life.

As marketers we've worked with a few Veruca's in our time. "I want an Oompa Loompa and I want one NOW!" Too often we cave like Veruca's father, "Yes, sweetheart, right away," nodding our heads and agreeing to one ridiculous request after another. You want a golden ticket? Hire more workers. Bring on the squirrels. 100% unaided awareness? Sure thing. 1000X pipeline coverage? You'll have it after lunch. More engagement. More press coverage More. More. More. Yes ma'am. Coming sir. Right away.

Come closer. I've got something to say... "No."

It's ok to say, "no." I'll repeat that. It's ok to say, "no." Not that you need my permission, but as marketers (and I bet other functions) you might need the reminder. We've got to feel empowered to put our foot down, stand up for ourselves, and push back on impatience. Not saying, "no" for the sake of it, but a "no" rooted in a deep understanding of the ask. One of the things I've noticed as I've worked with more busy executives is how broken their perception of time is. On further reflection, maybe it's not broken. It's probably not there. They honestly don't know how long things take. Saying "yes" to unrealistic timelines reinforces a false reality. So do yourself a favor. Say "no" and then explain why? Give that busy executive insight into how long a task takes. Detail some of the steps required in that project and present a clear case for what it takes to get the job done. You'll both appreciate it.

A few years ago, Brian Halligan, then CEO of Hubspot, penned a piece in Harvard Business Review on how the Art of Strategy is about saying, "no." He spoke about how in start up mode, "yes man/woman" strategies worked, but how they backfired in scale-up mode. The result being half-baked projects all over the place. David Packard, HP's co founder probably said it best, "More companies die of indigestion than starvation."

Saying "no" is about saying "yes" to focus. It's about being steadfast in a commitment to priorities. Otherwise, if say "yes" to everything, what's the point of even setting priorities? As Brian points out, when we say no, we have to mean it. That's making a decision and sticking by it - even if you're swayed to reconsider. Same thing with saying yes. If you commit, you have to follow through. The point is, you can't waffle because constant stop/starts and gear changes not only ruin cars - they ruin companies.

Now back to my daughter. I can hear her in the shower belting out Veruca's solo - "I want it NOW!!" My instinct is to cave and say, "yes" but "no" is now in my vocabulary. I'll try to take my own advice.