After last week’s very practical and easy to apply work hack, this week’s hack will be less of a hack and more of a learning.
There is a lot of great literature out there that talk about the importance of saying ‘Yes’. The usual story here is that there are way too many naysayers and you automatically differentiate yourself when you say ‘Yes’ to things.
There’s equally compelling literature out there that talks of the importance of saying ‘No’. The logic here is that top performers are always saying ‘No’ to things that are lower in priority.
That’s the theory and as is always the case, it is very situational and contextual.
The real life application of this Yes-No Paradox for me has been to be (roughly) 60% yes, 40% no. My reasons are simple – there needs to be a balance between the two. Well, balance only happens in theory of course. We are constantly going to be straying to one side or the other. And, as a general rule, I’ve learnt that it’s better to stray towards the side of attempting too much than attempting too little.
The important caveat here is that these ratios change as you take on more important roles. When you start on a new challenge in a new work environment, it helps to be 90% Yes and grab all opportunities that come your way. Over time, you hopefully build a reputation of excellence and this allows you to pick and choose what you want to work on.
Of course, the only way to sustain the ability to choose is to continue delivering great work. The moment that stops happening, the choice magically disappears too.
The Hack: Be excellent and consistently push to deliver top class work. This naturally means that more opportunities will come your way. When they do, remember to exercise the option of saying ‘No’ and continue to keep focus on high priority stuff/things you enjoy. And of course, remember to make sure you don’t exercise it too much so as to become a naysayer.
Not much of a hack in the traditional sense of the word. But not much of work or life is hackable especially the ‘Be excellent’ part.
As Peter Drucker learnt in the first few weeks of his first job, you either ‘get good or get out.’
A Learning a Day 