I had an interesting conversation tonight after a great evening playing racquetball, my first time playing in nearly two years. I was talking with Justin, a friend of mine, about a difficult discussion I was gearing up for at work. The project I am working on is starting to grow quickly in complexity and scope. I am lining up all the appropriate stake holders in the project and getting buy in that we need to rein things back in. I expect a few fights and escalations along the way as I work to pull things back under control.
Justin brought up a great perspective that got me thinking. He said, “I like being the yes man instead of the no man. Nobody likes to be told no and it is a quick way to halt a discussion. I always like to say yes, we can do what you want, all I need is x dollars and x amount of time to make it happen”. This is a simple enough idea that I am sure many of you have heard before, as had I, but it really resonated with me. With the right time, money, and resources you can accomplish anything. If someone is asking for something new, spend the time to figure out what it takes to deliver. If the requester is really interested, you may have just landed a great new opportunity that wouldn’t have been there if all you had said was no.
I’ve decided to scope out how to deliver everything I am being asked for. I am sure we can do whats required, and I think the market opportunity is huge if we pull it off. I’ll just need the right amount of time, money, and people to deliver. If I can line up agreement from all the stakeholders with the requirements, it’ll be full steam ahead. If not, we are back on track with our original scope and we headed off a negative conversation that would have spent everyones time and energy unnecessarily.
Thank you Justin.
