Yes man - Should we always say yes?

What I wanted to address here is a question: – “Would the world be in a better place if we all just said Yes more”. Yes to what? Well yes to everything. Just saying yes more.

My personal feeling is the answer is Yes…the world would be better if we all said yes more…..well probably.
So let’s take a look at it in more detail. Saying yes would make a more positive and helpful world. If a stranger asked you to help with taking some shopping to their car you would. You wouldn’t grumble, just smile and help them with the bags.
BUT BUT BUT, would saying yes to everything really help us long term? I don’t actually think so. We do all need to be more flexible and helpful but I think one of the great challenges in the world right now is that people don’t really know how to say “no” with a smile. When I say with a smile I really mean in a pleasant and kind way. A way that wouldn’t upset the other person.

The term WIN WIN is something we have all probably heard but how often to we get a real WIN WIN situation. Sometimes getting WIN WIN means walking away form a situation without getting anything from it. What does that mean?
OK so lets say you are a sales person selling a product. You go and see the client and they drive a very hard bargain, so much so in fact that they say they will only pay a price and they won’t move. The price they have given is actually less that the wholesale cost of the product. You weigh up the options; “Do I sell at a loss to get a client or should I stick to my guns?”.

It’s a good question.

If you sell under our profit margin then it’s a WIN LOSE situation. The client has won and you have lost. If on the other hand you politely decline the offer in such a way that the client feels respected then that’s a WIN WIN.
Take another example. Let’s say you arrange to have dinner with a friend. They REALLY want to go to the new restaurant that has opened up but you just want to go to your old favourite. If you begrudgingly go along with you friend and let them overpower you with the decision then that is a WIN LOSE. If you go along and then spend all night acting like a 7 year old! then again that’s a WIN LOSE.

This is not as easy as it sounds! To be genuinely focused on a WIN WIN situation is not the most natural of things to do. Typically our EGO gets in the way even when we try to stop it!
Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

Thanks
Matt