Saying no

In response to my post on Medium on how every data transform is technical debt, Peter Flock commented:

I think it’s very difficult to avoid adding new code. The business will have new requirements and use cases that need to be attended to (you can try push back but good luck 🙂)

And while that’s true (the business is always evolving, and new things will need to be built), it also reminded me of how important it is to say no.

In fact, I’d say that’s the most important lesson I’ve learned as I became a leader.

It’s so easy to say yes. It feels nice!

But, as Tobi Lütke said on the Knowledge Project Podcast:

If you say no to a thing, then you’re saying no to one thing. If you say yes to a thing, you actually say no to every other thing during that period of time.

Which means, sooner or later you’ll be stuck delivering what you have already promised, instead of taking on more impactful work.

Saying no is what allows you to focus on what really matters.