"NO ISN'T A DIRTY WORD..."

I have worked with looooots of service professionals and contractors in my business. Over 20 years and counting, there is a common theme that I see in the ones who set themselves apart from the overwhelming majority of others who don't do this ONE thing...they say no.

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They are slow to take on new projects, fast to say no, and the line for their services is out the door and around the corner. Why?

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Because they don't say yes to something unless they're crystal clear that they can produce that outcome. They under-promise, and over-deliver, and EVERYONE knows it, which is why EVERYONE wants to hire them.

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I wish more service professionals understood how impressive and rare it is to come across folks who understand their current limitations, and decline to take a job when they are not 100% sure they can perform.

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Being well-intended, biting off more than you can chew, and dropping the ball is not a situation that gets you closer to your goals, no matter how big the opportunity seemed on the front end.

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You earn the respect of your peers, and more business over the long haul from them, when you can objectively and honestly assess your current time, bandwidth, team, background, skill set, etc and say "You know what, I'd love to take this on, and I hope you consider me for the future, but I've got to decline this...for now."

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MAN! What a joy it is when I hear those words, because I know I've found someone with whom I now DEFINITELY want to figure out a way to work with them on something, at some time.

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Crazy right? If people only knew how valuable you become when you are willing and able to say those words to people who want to give you their money.

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Kinda counter-intuitive, but it makes them want to give you their money MORE, not less. Start saying NO unless you know for a fact, without a shadow of a doubt, that you can fulfill on what you're promising.

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And if you're not sure, just say that directly, honestly, up front, and let that person decide if they're willing and wanting to get in the lab with you and roll the dice. They may be game for it, if you just keep it 100% with them from moment one.

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And in those rare cases where it doesn't turn out, and you simply aren't able to produce what you said you would produce, don't make excuses, and don't just slink away, without addressing the situation.

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Lean into it, be authentic, and simply say "This is on me. I overreached. If there's a way I can fix this, please allow me to try...and if not, I hope you'll give me an opportunity sometime again in the future, and don't let this define our relationship for good."

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Guess what? That person you're speaking to, and coming clean with, they're human too. They remember a time before everything was everything, where they missed a few deadlines, made some promises that they didn't live up to, and they had to learn the hard way from those mistakes too when they fell short of the mark.

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Maybe you don't get their business again right now, but you'll have their respect, and if nothing else, leave out of the door in every engagement with the respect of the person on the other side of the table if at all possible, by dealing with situations directly, and authentically. That may not be possible if it somehow has gotten contentious, but that's a hint that you probably should have said no to that "opportunity" in the first place anyway.

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Whatever you do, please, for the sake of your professional identity - JUST SAY NO MORE OFTEN. We'll ALL thank you for it.

#IntentionMastery

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Thomas started his entrepreneurial career selling luxury custom car accessories online from New York to California out of his dorm room at Tennessee State University, and never looked back. Over 15 years later, beard grayed from the trials of entrepreneurship, Thomas is an author, a sought after speaker and facilitator, a Google Entrepreneur in Residence, the founder of a patented enterprise microfeedback platform, a member of the SXSW Tech Advisory Council, and the creator of an organization that catalyzes growth for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, with close to 6000 in the membership network across 16 countries, who have raised + generated over $415MM in their startups.

For seasoned entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and business leaders respectively, Thomas' approaches offer practical ways to quickly close gaps between intentions, deliberate actions, and measurable outcomes, to make bottom line revenue predictable, and amplify growth in their companies and careers.