The Power of "leading with a yes"

The power of "leading with a yes" is illustrated in a recent Fast Company article titled My Greatest Lesson.  Katherine Hudson, the President and CEO of W.H. Brady Co.tells her story...

My father taught me everything that I know about taking risks. When he graduated from high school, he couldn't afford to go to college. He became a messenger boy at Eastman Kodak, running notes up and down the company's 19-story office tower. Part of his job was to clean and refill the inkwells in the executive offices. One Friday, his boss said, "Ed, can you type?" My father immediately said, "Yes!" - although he had never touched a typewriter before. That evening, he borrowed his sister's typewriter, and spent the entire weekend teaching himself how to type. He couldn't learn everything in a weekend, so he concentrated on learning the letters. But when he went in on Monday, the company put him in the billing department - typing numbers!

When someone offers you a challenge, don't think of all the reasons why you can't do it. Instead, say, "Yes!" Then figure out how you'll get it done. Early in my own career at Kodak, I was writing a report to explain a complicated reorganization process. At the end of the day, my boss asked me what I thought about the reorganization. I told him that I thought it was a good idea but that I felt sorry for the poor guy who had to run the instant-photography division - which had been losing several million dollars a year. He then asked, "Well, how would you like to be that poor guy?" It was like someone asking me, "Can you type?" I said, "Yes!"  I had no idea how to be a general manager. Was I taking a big risk? Absolutely. But my team and I turned the business around within 15 months. We developed new products and achieved excellent results. I wasn't going to let fear or doubt keep me from saying, "Yes, I can type."

Comments

[david]

dave,
i know i'm digging into the archives here, but i'm writing up an article for our church on the value of saying "no" and i remembered reading this here so i came back to it.

it seems to me that these examples are stories about saying "yes" to gain leadership, not necessarily leading with a "yes"

when do you guys at CCC say "no"?

[Dave Ferguson]

Good question! Our CCC culture is to lead with a “yes” almost no matter what the request or question. I don’t know if this has ever been adapted by any other church, group or organization. And quite frankly I’m not sure it will continue to work; but it is the direction that we have chosen so far. How does it work? Even on those occasions when we can not accommodate the request we would respond with “yes we can do this if you will do this ____________” OR “yes, we can do this ___________ (part of the request)” OR “we can do this, even if we can’t to this.” It’s not that we don’t have boundaries, because we have boundaries and a very clear mission and vision that we stick to.

Just yesterday I was talking to Tim Sutherland (point person on our teaching team) about this and he reminded me that even God’s “no” is always wrapped in a greater “yes”. For example, when God says, “do not commit adultery”; that “no” is really wrapped in a greater “yes”. That particular “no” is really directing us toward a greater “yes” of a happy and healthy marriage. As he said that – it hit me that is what we are trying to accomplish. We are always pointing people as Christ Followers to a “greater yes”. By leading with a “yes” and pointing people toward a greater “yes” it cultivates an environment of opportunity and optimism.

As you can see I’m still sorting this out…but that was the stuff in my head right now. And here is my proof text (or is it?) But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." – I Corinthians 1:18 & 19

Your partner in the cause!

Dave