5 Benefits to Saying No

Grow a Spine to Grow a Business

One 3” x 5” index card.

Three to five specific areas of focus.

If someone asks you to do something, check the card. If it’s listed, green light. If not, say no. Blame the card.

Do you have this card written out, carried in your front pocket, duct taped to your forehead? If you don’t, then you are probably saying yes to far more than you should, wasting precious time building what you set forth to create.

Learn to say no today to the things that are not on the card. Here are 5 clear benefits of saying no:

1. Clarification of Mission –

Figure out the 3-5 things that you are called to do, write them down, post everywhere, and execute. This list will change, but should never be more than 3-5 things. How can you lead a team if there is no location circled on the map? As the refrain goes, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

2. Greater Efficiency –

Once you have your marching orders, you will be amazed at the things you can accomplish. Many founding teams state after leaving YCombinator or other time-constrained accelerators that they hit a gear they never knew existed. Amazing what can be delivered when your mission becomes clear. You will look back and wonder how on earth you ever got anything done.

3. Less Stress –

Gone will be the days that you know a deadline is coming and you haven’t done the work required to finish the job well. Stress builds up around getting it done as well as quality of product. There is a tremendous amount of peace knowing you are prepared for the next ascent. Leaving everything on the court and losing is far better than knowing you could have done more to win.

4. More Focused and Energized Team –

Others will notice and take heed. The peloton has split and your team must keep up with the sprinters or lose the race. Research shows that riders in a group can save as much as 40% energy by drafting behind each other. Your team will ride faster and stronger as you lead them into the open road.

5. Sideliners Will Be Removed –

You will ruffle feathers. There may be people who don’t like the higher bar. The resulting reality will be that those who are slow, negative, or don’t want to put in the work will fall behind. It will not be difficult to identify those team members who showed initial promise but couldn’t take it higher. Thus time spent on HR matters will be greatly reduced as it will be clear who is running well.

Saying no is a muscle that will be strengthened over time. It will become instinctual to say no to things that take you off path. It won’t be easy though — distractions will come at every turn. Make certain you have trusted people in your life that help you stick to your mission. This life cannot be done alone.