Seeing NO as a Beginning

As an internal consultant in municipal government I was always trying to find ways to make the results of training programs practical and long-lasting. I often got a resounding "no!" when I proposed something new. You know the reasons – “it won't work here”, “employees can't take time away from their work”, “we don't have the money”.

I was persistent - and creative.

I think that every objection can become the seed of how to make an idea work. And I was able to create a city-wide mentoring program doing just that.

So, “we don't have money” became “let's create an all volunteer program”.

“Our employees are paranoid about talking about their jobs” became “let's have cross-agency matching”. “No one will release employees” became “let's create a program where the mentees schedule meetings on their own time”.

This kind of thinking and persistence led to a comprehensive mentoring program for supervisors and managers that spanned all 50+ New York City agencies and authorities that continued long after I moved into external consulting. And that kind of thinking serves me well in developing strategies for my clients now.

The moral? Remember that behind every objection a client raises is a wealth of information about strategies that will serve them well. “No” is not an obstacle - it's an invitation.

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