5 Reasons to Say YES

October 6, 2006 by Ben Yoskovitz 23 Comments

Paul McEnany at Hee-Haw Marketing rages against the devil in his quest for a higher purpose.

Actually, Paul’s stomping on devil’s advocates everywhere:

Devil’s advocates are everywhere.You know why?

Because it’s easy to say no. It doesn’t take much thought, and it sure doesn’t take much work. The devil’s advocate is the person that kills action for the sake of killing action. He takes that stance because he is too lazy to find solutions, too stupid to come up with his own ideas, or too selfish to share the glory.

Go read his post. Please.

And here are 5 reasons to say “yes”:

You’ll learn something. Even if the idea doesn’t fly, you’ll learning something valuable.
You’ll get a rush of adrenaline when you jump in…not with a single toe, but with your whole dang foot.
You’ll realize the value of an idea.
You’ll get a chance to connect with people.
You’ll be inspired.

Say YES. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but it’ll be one heck of a worthwhile ride.

And Don’t Forget: It’s Blog About 5 Things Week! Join the fun by writing a post on 5 things; 5 tips, 5 steps, 5 ideas, etc. Link back here to tell me about it… Read More!

Paul McEnany

Ben-

Thanks for comments! I especially like #5 as your reason to say yes. “You’ll be inspired.”

That’s just forgotten in so many businesses. Almost all of them, really. No one wants to believe that they’re just working for a paycheck, and a paycheck alone. We all want to be working towards achieving something, reaching some goal that’s bigger than money. And, I believe that’s true even if you work at an accounting firm.

Devil’s advocates strip us of inspiration and can ruin big ideas. I’m not suggesting that we be reckless, but for god’s sake, take some chances! Get inspired!
Ben Yoskovitz

Hey Paul – thanks for inspiring the post in the first place.

Ultimately I do think there’s value in questioning things. Brainstorming to come up with better ideas. You don’t want to be surrounded by “yes” men, but from an inspirational perspective I think there’s a lot more merit in “yes” than “no”.
Paul McEnany

Ben-

Thanks for comments! I especially like #5 as your reason to say yes. “You'll be inspired.”

That's just forgotten in so many businesses. Almost all of them, really. No one wants to believe that they're just working for a paycheck, and a paycheck alone. We all want to be working towards achieving something, reaching some goal that's bigger than money. And, I believe that's true even if you work at an accounting firm.

Devil's advocates strip us of inspiration and can ruin big ideas. I'm not suggesting that we be reckless, but for god's sake, take some chances! Get inspired!
Ben Yoskovitz

Hey Paul – thanks for inspiring the post in the first place.

Ultimately I do think there's value in questioning things. Brainstorming to come up with better ideas. You don't want to be surrounded by “yes” men, but from an inspirational perspective I think there's a lot more merit in “yes” than “no”.
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Romas

Anyway, I think whether you should say YES depends on proposition, there are times when saying NO is better:) But still, I like these 5 reasons in the post:)
Romas

Anyway, I think whether you should say YES depends on proposition, there are times when saying NO is better:) But still, I like these 5 reasons in the post:)
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MYR

I think I’ll take the contrarian view (dare I say “play devil’s advocate”) and defend the devil’s advocate. A good devil’s advocate can make you take a step back and look at least a little more critically at your ideas. Since the world contains many more bad ideas than good ideas, approaching every idea with a rah rah super-positive attitude is more likely than not to end up with you enthusiastically supporting a bad idea. I doubt that you want that.
MYR

I think I'll take the contrarian view (dare I say “play devil's advocate”) and defend the devil's advocate. A good devil's advocate can make you take a step back and look at least a little more critically at your ideas. Since the world contains many more bad ideas than good ideas, approaching every idea with a rah rah super-positive attitude is more likely than not to end up with you enthusiastically supporting a bad idea. I doubt that you want that.
Ben Yoskovitz

Hi MYR – thanks for the comment. There may be a place for devil’s advocates, but I still agree with Paul – it’s an easy position to take. Done right, a devil’s advocate can help; they can be an advisor, honest feedback loop, etc. — done poorly and they’re just a negative pain in the rear.

Saying YES is riskier and more fun than saying NO.

But as long as a devil’s advocate isn’t there just to shoot everything down, then there may be a place for them after all. *smile*
Ben Yoskovitz

Hi MYR – thanks for the comment. There may be a place for devil's advocates, but I still agree with Paul – it's an easy position to take. Done right, a devil's advocate can help; they can be an advisor, honest feedback loop, etc. — done poorly and they're just a negative pain in the rear.

Saying YES is riskier and more fun than saying NO.

But as long as a devil's advocate isn't there just to shoot everything down, then there may be a place for them after all. *smile*
Cindy

I actually think it depends on the situation. You just need to weight each case differently. Just my two cents..
Cindy

I actually think it depends on the situation. You just need to weight each case differently. Just my two cents..
Ben Yoskovitz

Cindy – That’s very true, the situation makes a difference, but the key here is that there are some people who are consistently negative. It is often easier to say “no” and be dismissive…
Ben Yoskovitz

Cindy – That's very true, the situation makes a difference, but the key here is that there are some people who are consistently negative. It is often easier to say “no” and be dismissive…
yioqse

sorry about my english….i’ll try to tell you what my father says…
When you understand that EVERYTHING in this life is transitory, appears equanimity……Then? PERSISTS in the seaking(searching, improving….)
Whats my conclusion? In this life you can reach everything you want, but you have to persist, don´t be afraid of anything……..just say that is no easy
yioqse

sorry about my english….i'll try to tell you what my father says…
When you understand that EVERYTHING in this life is transitory, appears equanimity……Then? PERSISTS in the seaking(searching, improving….)
Whats my conclusion? In this life you can reach everything you want, but you have to persist, don´t be afraid of anything……..just say that is no easy
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5 Reasons to Say YES

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