You Say Yes!

Josh Harrisking
October 15, 2012

Josh Harrisking

Lives in: Seattle, Washington
From: Des Plaines, Illinois
Web: http://www.stinkycheesedad.com
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The second post in the “Ghostbusters Philosophy” series.  Today’s post is a line that everyone should be familiar with, and is uttered by Winston Zedemore.

Some times the simplest answer to a question escapes us.  Some times we out think ourselves, a

nd blow a very simple chance to take charge.  Often we avoid this simple answer, because it comes with so much baggage.

What better way to illustrate that point then with the line “If someone asks if you’re a god, you say yes!“

Now, most of us never get asked if we’re a god.  That isn’t a normal conversation topic.  But we do get asked hard questions everyday, and it’s amazing how many times we avoid saying “Yes” simply because it’s hard to take all the responsibility that comes with it.

Yes means that you’re going to own something.  Yes means you’re going to deliver.  Yes means the buck stops with you.  Yes means you’re ready for the challenge.  Yes means you want to ship.

But what happens when you get asked those hard questions?  What happens when you’re bos

s asks, “I need you to fix this problem, can you do it?”

You have 4 options…

The simple, “No.”

The wussy, “Well, I would, but I need to get that TPS report done.”

The round about affirmative, “Well, assuming that I can clear a few things from my schedule, maybe I can get Mike to cover that other issue, and I can stay late tomorrow, and then I won’t eat lunch for the next couple of days…I should be able to make that happen.”

Or the confident, “Yes.”

Yes leaves no room for hedged bets, no outs, no wiggle room.  It puts your neck on the line, and puts you in the head lights of your boss.  But guess what? If you can’t commit, what in the hell are you doing?  No matter what profession you’re in, if you can’t deliver, and do it regularly, you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in.

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