How often do we find ourselves saying “yes, but…” in response to someone? For me, it’s far too often. Someone presents an idea and I immediately see holes in it, so I mistakenly say “yes, but…”
Yes, but … it costs too much money.
Yes, but … it won’t have the return on investment you expect.
Yes, but … we don’t have time to do it.
Yes, but … I don’t think it’ll work so I don’t want to invest my time into it.
There’s a lot of “yes, buts” that stifle creativity. Too many “yes, buts” will cause someone to stop bringing you ideas. To stop innovating. To stop enjoying their job.
Instead of “yes, but,” try saying “yes, and …”
Yes, and … we should think about how to add a social element to the marketing campaign.
Yes, and … how can we come full circle and show the donors the good work we did?
Yes, and … we should explore other campaigns that could work with this one.
“Yes, and” opens your mind to consider the possibilities and think about how the idea could work. You might still end up saying “no,” but thinking “yes, and” first will open you up to innovation and potential new ideas.
