In this reflective wrap-up of our “Strategy of Saying No” series, we revisit how leaders can protect focus, foster psychological safety, and say no, not just out of resistance but out of strategy. You’ll hear why “yes” can be expensive, how frameworks like ERASE build trust, and how the world’s top companies (like Apple) made bold progress by turning down even good ideas. Backed by research and real-world practices, this episode will help you recalibrate your leadership lens and reset your toolkit for the week ahead.
References:
1) You Have More Influence Than You Think – https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9781324005719
2) Effect of Reminders of Personal Sacrifice on the Acceptability of Conflicts of Interest – https://www.jstor.org/stable/25628450
3) The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress – https://doi.org/10.1145/1357054.1357072
4) Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams – https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
5) Reconceptualizing Organizational Routines as a Source of Flexibility and Change – https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840603024001701
6) Tim Cook’s quote reference – https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook-says-no-good-ideas-2015-6
7) Steve Jobs on innovation – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8eP99neOVs
Music Credit: Switch It Up, performed by Silent Partner, from the YouTube Studio Audio Library