The most powerful word in the optimisation toolkit is not yes. It is no.

Yes is not the flex you think it is

There is a school of thought that says when someone asks if you can do something, just say yes and figure it out later. Hand on heart, as someone who does exactly that on a regular basis and pulls it off most of the time, let me save you the trouble. Unless you are a genuine multipotentialite with an extraordinary ability to adapt and change direction at speed, you are not that person. I do not mean that unkindly. It may sting, but it is true.

And the good news is that you do not have to be. The most powerful word in the optimisation toolkit is no. You need to know when to say it, and when you do, good things start to happen.

What a clear no buys you

You save a hell of a lot of time not going down roads that were never going to give you the return you wanted. You might learn something along the way, and with luck you will, but does it feed your core business? Usually not, or it would already be part of what you offer.

Saying no also draws boundaries around what you do. Not negative boundaries, positive ones, so people know what to bring you. And a no can still be generous: “that is not for me, but I know someone who does exactly that, I trust them, and I am happy to introduce you.” Say no so that you can focus 100 per cent on what you do best. If what you do best is genuinely everything, then by all means say yes. For almost everyone else the opposite is true. People specialise, they become known for a niche, and that is precisely why they come to mind when someone asks for a recommendation, rather than the person who claims to do it all.

Stay on your own path

Keep saying yes to every opportunity and you will burn out and spread yourself too thin, like Hitler at Barbarossa. You will not get the same results, partly because you are doing work you may not be suited to, or do not enjoy, and learning a brand-new skill is an uphill climb unless you genuinely love that kind of learning. Meanwhile you are not developing the thing you actually set out to build.

Think of it like sport. You have trained at tennis for years and become very good. Then someone asks you to play golf. There is nothing wrong with golf, but every hour on the course is an hour you are not spending getting even better at the game you have chosen. Do what you are good at. Do what you are great at even better, and say no to the opportunities that do not serve you or fit your path.

And when someone asks you for something you do not do, they have simply misunderstood what you do. Treat it as a chance to put that right, so that next time they understand it well enough to recommend you, or to come back when they actually need you. In the meantime, they can find someone else for the rest.