It’s Easier to Say Yes Than to Do Everything That Comes Next
Amanda Setili
I help leaders agree on what needs to change (and how). Author, "The Agility Advantage" and "Fearless Growth?". Member, Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches.
“We could really use your experience and insight at our next meeting.”
“Last year, we raised $1 million in a single evening for this charity. Can you spare three hours to help us do it again?”
“Let’s stop on the way home and take a look. It will only take 20 minutes.”
We want to be of service to other people. We want to be agreeable and cooperative. That’s why it’s remarkably easy to say yes to more obligations than you should.
Saying yes is easy. Fulfilling the obligations that come along with that affirmative response, well, that’s quite a bit harder.
To make matters worse, it’s not always easy—or possible—to explain to others why you can’t say yes. They may think: this would take you seven minutes… what’s the big deal?
The big deal, of course, is that you have many dozens or even hundreds of obligations. And the more complexity you add, with myriad “seven minute” tasks, the less you can focus on what’s important.
You lose the ability to execute well on the things you really want to accomplish.
The correct answer is “no”.
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Refuse more requests. Learn to politely but firmly decline.
I once heard a story—probably apocryphal—about an executive who hired “a guy in Montana”. Anytime she received a request she’d rather decline, she told the requester, “You will need to talk to my guy in Montana; he handles this.”
You can probably see this one coming. The only job of her guy in Montana was to politely refuse every request made of him. He lacked the authority to do anything else, which made it a nearly foolproof system.
If you need help learning to say no, so you can focus on what counts, I will be glad to support you.?
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Amanda Setili helps successful leaders and their teams agree on what needs to change and how to make it happen. She is author of?Fearless?Growth :?The New Rules to Stay Competitive, Foster Innovation, and Dominate Your Markets, and?The Agility Advantage , How to Identify and Act On Opportunities in a Fast-Changing World.?
For more strategies, videos and free materials, please visit?www.setili.com , and check out these quick examples of the type of work we do. Or listen to the Fearless Growth Podcast.
?Contact?Amanda ?to discuss how she works with companies to improve profits, performance and growth.