Just say no

You will never finish a project if you can’t say no. 

Because you can’t get “everything you want” and actually meet a deadline.

But there are different shades of no.

There’s no – as in great idea, we’ll do that once all this is finished.

And no, as in, maybe later. That might be important if that area of the business develops.

And no, as in, it’s just not worth the effort.

And then no as in, you’ve gotta be freaking kidding me.

Some say that I am a natural bad cop and that saying no comes naturally to me. At the same time, I know that it’s crucial that everyone on the team feels heard.

So, when I’m leading a project, I make a point of recording every request, idea, or question. So, team members know that what they’ve said has not been ignored. Reasonable people know that no team can do everything at the same time. And if you’re people are unreasonable, you have bigger issues.

Have your projects ever died because no one could or would say no?