We’ll put that one on the back burner

We’ll give that some more attention/study/consideration/thought in the future

Good idea, just not right now, we just went through a major change

We’ve had a change in priorities, and this initiative will have to wait until sometime in the next couple of quarters

There isn’t enough Return on Investment to make this project worthwhile

There are sure a lot of ways to “no”, it’s one of my favorite exercises I do at my leadership training and development sessions.  We’ll sit around the table and come up with ways that we have said “no” to others or how others have said it.  In some cases, it’s how we have heard it from bosses and co-workers.

It is a fun game, you can go around the table four or five times and not get a repeat answer.

Then the rules change.

Now say “yes”, and we’ll see how many rounds we go.

I can tell you from experience that if a company can say “yes” eight or ten different ways, they are doing pretty-darned well.   It’s how we are brought up, it’s how we learn in school,  it is how we are trained in work.

We get significantly more negative feedback than we do positive feedback.  And after awhile, we all get immune.

And that can’t be good.

Don’t lower your standards.  There is nothing wrong with expected a lot from your employees, just like your customers expect a lot from you.  However, when you High-Performers are working at just 80% of their discretionary effort, they are still working harder than your average employee.

Make sure you find when your employees are doing something right. And then tell them.  And then tell them again.

Not art… science.