The Power of Yes

I feel like The Power of Yes is probably a book title already. But one I haven't read. With the recent debt ceiling crisis, issues at work, government shutdown in Minnesota, conflits of all sorts around the world, got me thinking...

Saying NO is easy.

NO - The strategy does not match up with my ideologies.
NO - I don't like your proposal.
NO - That's not the way we want to do it.
NO - I don't want to hear the alternatives because I think it's stupid.
NO - Bring me something else to consider and then we can talk.

The problem with always saying NO is the nay-saying group is never bringing alternatives to the table. They hold the power to veto but never offer a solution.

It's much harder to envision a strategy, put together a plan, get buy-in, and pitch it, than it is to say NO.

My point is: do the hard work. Don't be on the NO side. (And if you are, combine the NO with an alternative.) There are a lot fewer people out there doing that, than there are people simply saying NO. The nay-sayers are a dime a dozen. The H.W. (Hard Workers) are few and far between.

Don't say NO. Make something happen.