When "no" can lead to "yes" - SmartBrief

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When “no” can lead to “yes”

The most valuable resource a good executive employs is her time. Don't squander it by saying "yes" to everything.

2 min read

Communication

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The most valuable resource a good executive employs is her time.

In her book “Year of Yes,” television executive producer and writer Shonda Rhimes shares that her way of budgeting time was to say “no” to everything but work in order to spend more time at home. This was a strategy that enabled Rhimes to devote time to her children as well as find time to write.

Like Rhimes, all busy executives must learn to their time wisely.

When you are in an executive position, demands on your time escalate. People always want you to make decisions, and after all that’s what good executives are paid to do.

For this reason, an executive must learn to say “no” — as a means to saying “yes.” By this, I mean, you eliminate distractions by focusing on what requires your attention the most.

John Baldoni is chair of leadership development at N2Growth, is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach. In 2014, Trust Across America named him to its list of top 100 most trustworthy business experts. Also in 2014, Inc.com named Baldoni to its list of top 100 leadership experts, and Global Gurus ranked him No. 11 on its list of global leadership experts. Baldoni is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, “MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership.”

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