better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Saying Yes!

4 November 2019

Do you like pizza? Assuming you do, what’s your favourite topping?

I would say that we all like pizza, but there maybe people who are not so fond of them, and that’s okay.

However, for the purposes of discussion, let’s assume we all like pizza.

When we think of the various toppings on offer we might choose pepperoni, or ham and pineapple, or four cheese. Perhaps a tasty tuna and sweetcorn, or a mushroom and pepper, might catch our eye.

It seems to me that pizza hasn’t changed much in the last few years, or perhaps that’s just me leading a sheltered pizza-life.

And yet recently I’ve noticed a rise in some more adventurous styles …would you say yes to:

Chicken Korma?

Cheeseburger?

Hot Dog?

English Breakfast?

The answer to these is of course…yes!

Allowing for food intolerances (we don’t want anyone to be ill) it’s good to say yes and try new things. We might even like them!

Business is like pizza. Evergreen products and services are good for profits and we also need to keep an eye on new trends and develop new ranges in our repertoire.

Recently I said yes to a client who wanted a mental health at work project. I’m a business coach and executive development specialist and also have 15 years of Transactional Analysis training and am in advanced psychotherapy training. I know a thing or two about mental health, so am happy to broaden my offering.

The client piece is interesting, because unlike lots of courses that offer mental health awareness (and jolly good some of them are too) we are working at a strategic level.

If people are stressed at work then an awareness of mental health is good, but can fail to make an impact if colleagues’ workload is too high.

As with all good organisational approaches it’s more beneficial to tackle the source of the problem and work towards a permanent fix.

Saying yes brings new business. We might be nervous about delivering it and yet we can trust our skills and do a great job.

My first business mentor drummed it into me that you can’t build a business by saying no.

Or put it another way …the answer is yes, so what’s the question?

If we can eat new flavours of pizza we can say yes to new opportunities for our business.

What can you say yes to this week?

Maybe start with a pizza and see where it takes you!

Next week: The ‘Being Helpful’ Trap