Great Quote: Learning to say “No”
Tanmay Vora
In my first job, my immediate colleagues cursed me for my inability to say no – and my boss loved me for that! I said yes to everything that was given to me – and then stretched thin to get it done. At times, this even landed me in terrible situations just because I did not say no. I realized, the very hard way, that learning to say no is a very important career skill. This was even more relevant when I started managing projects.
Learning to say no is so crucial to manage clients expectations and avoid scope creep. Today’s quote comes from Schalk Klee’s blog – where he emphasizes that how to say no is as important as saying no. Here it goes –
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” – Josh Billings
How often do you say no and how often do you say yes to right things?
Learning to say “No” is a skill that you acquire with time, and it’s something that’s very important for Project Managers, saying “No” without being rude.
PM Hut has an article on how to say no. Check it!
Hi Tanmay,
Well written ! I really like your thoughts and you know I often share them with our colleagues !
There are many soft dimension of “yes” & “no”, its about the connotations attached viz. the feeling of acceptance / rejecetion, respect, consideration, kindness, rudeness, mannerism, etiquette etc.
Perhaps the manner we say “yes” or “no” is significantly critical to convey the correct message.
Thanks again & keep writing ….
@ Pravin –
Thanks for your insightful comments – I must admit that a lot of new thoughts and patterns emerge out of those routine discussions that we indulge into on diverse topics ranging from management and leadership to life in general.
Thanks for these and your feedback only helps me write better.
Keep reading and commenting.
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