Say No. This is your second most powerful tool. Whether you’re a manager, considering management, or just here for the Rands, I want you to pick the hardest problem on your plate. The one that is waking you up at 4am. I want you to decide and to say out loud:
“No.”
You’re not going to do that thing. QA can’t test it. Engineering won’t finish it. If we attempt to do it, we will fail and we don’t fail, so the answer is “No”.
— Rands
Rands spells out the importance of saying no. A critical point in plotting your strategy is saying no. After a good round of brainstorming you’re itching to start 5 different major initiatives. Maybe customers want to get started on new features as you’re still trying to launch weeks away from launching the baseline app.
The tough answer as a manager is often no. Agreeing to a impossible deadline and attempting to toss quality aside is bad for your team and bad for the organization. Saying no is the right thing here.