The art of saying NO!

Steve Jobs once famously said that “strategy is figuring out what not to do” and in my years of working with organizations, helping them to define their purpose and strategic planning, I have always found this succinct observation to be astute! 

At its core, strategic planning is about making choices. It's about setting a clear direction for an organization and then making deliberate decisions, every day, to stay on course.

Written here, this does seem like a rather simple objective – of course it is much more nuanced in reality. 

One of the most common reasons I have seen a strategic plan pushed to the side in not-for-profit and government funded organizations, is the temptation of a new funding opportunity which, while not aligned to the strategic plan, could perhaps be considered complementary. 

I have observed the temptation of a contract for a new service easily persuade a Board and executive team, to ‘take on a bit extra’ or ‘divert slightly and reallocate resources’ only to be frustrated when their original strategic goals fall short in reporting.

Or more the case, when an entire strategic plan becomes redundant because the diversion caused such a disruption to the organization.  

So, does staying true to strategy mean saying no to new opportunities? 

No, not at all.

Saying no is not about rejecting ideas or opportunities arbitrarily.  

But it is about staying true to your strategic vision and goals. It's about recognizing that resources, whether they be time, money, or peoplepower, are finite. Every decision to say yes to one thing is a decision to say no to something else. 

Consider Apple under Steve Jobs' leadership. One of Jobs' most significant decisions was to streamline Apple's product line. He famously reduced the company's product offerings from a multitude of confusing options to a focused lineup of core products.

This decision to say no to numerous potential products allowed Apple to concentrate its resources on a few key innovations, leading to the creation of groundbreaking products like the iPhone and iPad. 

Saying can be tough.

It requires leadership to have courage and conviction. It means turning down short-term gains for the sake of long-term success. It means being willing to walk away from opportunities that may seem attractive but ultimately do not align with your strategic direction. 

To make the hard decision to say no, organizations must have a clear understanding of their strategic priorities. They must have a well-defined strategic plan that serves as a guiding light in decision-making. This strategy should not only outline what the organization will do but, perhaps more importantly, what it will not do. 

I have often use Apple and the Steve Jobs quote as a powerful example for clients of the importance of strategic alignment and decision-making. It highlights the value of saying no to opportunities that do not align with your strategic vision.  

But by perfecting the art of saying no, organizations can stay focused on their core objectives and ultimately achieve greater success.