If I tell you no will it change your business decision?

The art of the skillful/qualified decline (Part 1)



It’s easy to SAY no, directly or indirectly. Our natural tendencies are to hide behind other work (too busy), hide behind leadership (ask my boss) or to play dumb (I did not get your email in time). But beware - there is also the trap of the “false positive” – by giving non verbal queues (head nodding, etc.), you could unwittingly be giving implied approval or agreement by saying nothing (silence is compliance).

So how should we say no, without appearing to be unhelpful? You have to turn a NO into a KNOW….(sorry for the pun!)


Invest ourselves early into the decision making process.

This can be achieved through casual contact (Hey Tom, did you know that we are going to have to order an upgraded switch for that new equipment deployment?), or through a more formal process (new user/application checklist, change control). Your communication has to be effective and meaningful to the customer throughout the decision process. All too often we hide behind the communication method we (ourselves) are most comfortable with or is the easiest. We have all seen the notorious mass email with the “do not reply to all” warning message in the header that gets quickly ignored by everyone (because we assume it's for someone else to worry about). We need to motivate our teams to engage the customer and communicate on their terms. For some customers sending out a quick text message or email is enough. Most middle upper managers just want the bullet points, others want a phone call. Some users prefer a site/office visit, others are fine with an instant message. Some folks insist on the weekly conference call, others live by the early morning meeting with breakfast pastries. Using a single form of communication (like email) appeals only to the lowest common denominator and as such has little impact when trying to shape decision making processes.

Make sure that your staff are communicating with stakeholders before, during and after the decision making process. By getting the customer’s buy in early in the process, we can join with the customers to eliminate potential IT roadblocks during the process. Invest in the process. If no one is documenting the meetings, offer to take minutes. Working toward a common goal will build cohesiveness within the company and will improve the effectiveness of IT’s impact in the decision making process. After the decision has been made, IT can provide ongoing value to the decision process by volunteering to lead the follow through effort. Following up also lets stakeholders and management see that IT is interested not only in helping make a decision, but has a stake in the outcome after the decision has been made. And to be a bit selfish, IT teams can use the follow up as an autopsy so we can make sure that we are addressing short comings in our own process. Some people might think that all this effort is wasted work, but would you rather have a seat at the table during the decision process or have no choice in the matter?


Provide more than just an answer (address the why), provide solutions (complete the how), and get your customers in the KNOW to avoid giving the NO.



More to come…