What is the big idea?
A customer asking you to do something extra or a colleague asking for help, instinctively you’ll want to say yes. Otherwise you’d damage the relationship, right? Wrong, says William Ury, the author of the book. By saying ‘no’ you not only respect your own boundaries, you’ll also improve your relationship with the other. As long as you do it in the right way.
And that’s by looking a bit further and knowing what it is you say yes to. Because saying no to your colleague could mean you say yes to qualitative work for your customer. By presenting the real ‘yes’ followed by a factual no you can eventually come to a common ‘yes’ together.
Why should you read it?
This book hands you a practical method to deliver difficult messages. By following the yes no yes approach, you’ll make it a lot easier for others to accept your no. It will even strengthen your relationship, instead of hurting it.
“A ‘No’ uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.”— Mahatma Gandhi
