The Power of No

By Jay Winchester

As entrepreneurs, it is to our advantage to stay positive and make frequent use of the word ‘Yes.’ It is a word enabling tremendous empowerment. From securing financing to building strategic alliances, it is a word with which most of us become familiar early on. But it is not the only word we should keep in our business vocabulary. There are times when its opposite, the word ‘No,’ can be just as freeing and empowering.

Early in my career, I was interviewing another writer about the book he’d just published on the freelance life. A veteran freelancer, he passed on a piece of advice that I have held onto but rarely ever used. His advice? Remember that the word ‘No’ can be the most powerful word in the business vocabulary. It surprised me to hear this, because my orientation has typically been to say ‘Yes,’ to work offered to me. Often, the careers of freelancers and entrepreneurs are driven by ‘Yes,’ particularly early on in the ‘grab and stack’ phase, when you are willing to do any work at any price seems. And in difficult financial times like these, saying ‘Yes’ is much easier than saying ‘No.’

We all want to emphasize the positive whenever we can. This is due, in part, to the mistaken belief that others hold the keys to our growth and success, especially on the financial side of the life ledger. After all, who threw a party the last time a potentially huge client was lost to a competitor? We tend to view ‘Yes’ as an affirming, agreeable and positive term, while viewing ‘No’ as a disarming, alarming and negative term.

The truth is that it all depends on when you choose to say no and to whom you choose to say it. Anytime you are faced with a situation that is less than appealing to you, less than deserving of you or less than ideal for you, ‘No’ is always a viable option. As entrepreneurs, we retain the ability to choose with whom we work and under what conditions we work with them. Don’t allow external circumstances to drive you to an automatic ‘Yes.’ Discerning use of the word ‘No’ can save you much grief and trouble, both in business and in life.

Leaders should be especially sensitive to the power of this word. Much of leadership revolves around saying ‘No’ to the countless suggestions and distractions you face every day. These things are threats not only to your personal focus, but also the focus of your company. And if you want your leadership to be effective, understand that ‘No’ shouldn’t be the last word out of your mouth; many times, it should be the first.

Apple’s Steve Jobs puts the power of no to work in his company: “…it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”

You’ll find that this word is uncomfortable. It does not slip from our lips easily, and does not produce the pleasing responses that ‘Yes’ engenders. So practice saying ‘No.’ Soon, using it wisely, you will come to appreciate both its value and its power.

About the Author
Jay M. Winchester is the owner and operator of The Winchester Group, a Christian media company specializingin delivering professional writing, editing and content creation services to companies of all sizes, including members of the Fortune 500. Since 1994, his byline has appeared over 450 times in a variety of publications, many with national distributions. Jay has written long-form direct response television and other commercial spots for Tony Little, Reliant Interactive Media and others. He is the former Managing Editor of two bi-monthly journals for writers, American Writers Review andWriting for Money. He is also the Managing Editor, Producer and voice for the Bay Area Business Minute, broadcast each workday on NewsTalk 820 AM, WWBA. He is a regular contributor to Bay Area Business Magazine.