Deep Dive Series: The Power of No Using Personal Policies
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
The April 29th episode of Work Life with Adam Grant was about how to say no. Adam stated that one of his preferred ways to say no is by using personal policies. If you receive frequent requests that you have no interest in acquiescing, then create and explain your personal policies. For example, Adam doesn’t write forewords to books, and he doesn’t work for companies for free. So when he says no to those kinds of requests, it’s not personal. He won’t accept those invitations no matter who asks, since they’re against his personal policies.
Do you have patterns of requests that you never want to accept? For example, I don’t lend money to people/I either give money with no expectation of repayment or I don’t give anything. I don’t work on weekends. I only do virtual presentations. Consider creating your own personal policies to save decision making energy in those situations.
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Sincerely Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team