Say yes!
Recalibration reality check: Are you saying “yes” more than you are saying “no?”
This has been a constant theme in the advice I’ve been giving to people throughout this recesssion recalibration. It is so easy to say no. (Not saying yes is saying no, by the way.) It is so easy to be scared. It is so easy to use the current economic mayhem as an excuse to put your head in the sand and not say yes. It is so easy to hide behind the misfortune the environment hands you.
Don’t!
Check yourself, everyday. Am I saying “yes” more than I am saying “no?”
Read
Steve,
Perhaps we should try an experiment: keep two note pads (or blank planner pages or something.) One being where we briefly write down everything we say “Yes” to, the other for the “No” requests. Keep it for a set period of time.
At the end of that time, go back and review it. What genuine time and money wasters did we say “yes” to? What things did we say “no” to that in retrospect could have actually improved client relationships? Generated revenue? Put us in a better position to handle the “yes” items? Made our lives better in general?
It’s actually a good exercise in self-leadership. I don’t like the term “time management.” I prefer to think in terms of leadership of self. Anyone who wants to effectively lead other people should start very close to home, by learning to follow his or her own convictions and counsel.
“Yes” and “No” may be very short words. We might decide between the two very quickly. But the effects of those short words and choosing the wrong one often have implications that last a lifetime. For the lifetime of an individual, or an organization.
I get your point about a lot of people saying “No” as a knee-jerk reaction to the times. Saying “no” too quickly to a customer is actually saying “yes”… “Yes, I encourage you to find someone else to do business and spend your money with.”