This was a hugely famous, catchy song from Grange Hill - a cult programme in the 1980s - with a very important message about saying no to drugs. The song went on to gain global recognition with the cast ending up at the American White House as part of a worldwide campaign with Nancy Reagan the First Lady
Saying no to drugs must undoubtedly be a major challenge, especially for those that are sadly addicted or dependent, however in general life, the inability to say no can have painful consequences.
As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, probably one of the hardest things for me to do is say no. God, I hate saying no. Yet it is critical to my own health and wealth to be able to say no, many more times than simply saying yes. Otherwise, I would be overstretched, overworked and overwhelmed. Leading to burn out and being of no use to anyone.
We just need to look at the incredible impact of digital distractions to our daily lives, with work and home life being dictated by every ping on a computer, tablet or smart phone. (Funny that the more I use the smart phone, the dumber I appear to become, even using it for simple calculations and spelling.)
There are a number of times, within business, we should feel comfortable in saying no:
Bad ideas – Sounds like a given, but I notice time and time again that who comes up with the idea can influence whether it is taken forward. All ideas should be assessed on merit, effort to implement vs benefit realised.
Good ideas – Lots of organisations get easily distracted, stretched and then overcome. Assess each idea and align to the company’s vision and goals. Stick to the plan.
Saying no to a client – one of the most difficult things for any organisation to do, especially as they are fee paying. But one of the hardest lessons we learned, was that we cannot be everything to everyone, and changing our service offering to suit, ended up costing us money and other customers.
Saying no to a seller – is it me or does everyone else get a gazillion asks to buy something on LinkedIn from someone who is going to transform our life. Whilst I genuinely believe it is a great platform for organisational growth, sadly, sellers don’t always do their research and they offer me services that have no relevance or compete with our own.
As a parent with persistent kids, saying no is one the toughest things to do. Of course, I want to see my children happy, and I love spoiling them -to the dismay of my wife. In fact, the biggest buzz I get is to see others succeed and be happy. However, I am not being fair on myself and those that I say yes to all of the time, if I later regret doing so or cannot deliver.
For those of us that lived in the 1980’s, in what now appear to be black and white days and are certainly prehistoric to my three and nine year-old children, we could all learn something from Zammo, Roland, Tucker and the gang, and just start saying no a little bit more. (Can’t get the song out of my head now).
Ammar Mirza CBE is Chair & Founder of Asian Business Connexions, Chair of the NELEP Business Growth Board, Honorary Colonel of 101 Regiment RA and holds various positions across the public and private sectors.
