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Last week, a colleague called and left me a weird formal message on my voicemail to call him back as soon as possible. This was pretty out of character for him, so I started to worry. Was he upset about something? Was our recent conversation not sitting well with him? My imagination took off. (I’m not a big worrier, but my imagination can get out of hand. #VisionaryProblems) I decided to call him the next day, and I told myself that it was because it was getting late.

This is the second article in our Saying No series. Click here to read the first article.

When it comes to saying ‘No’ or ‘Not Now’ the best place to start is to get clear on your priorities. Once you understand those, you’ll know why saying no or not now is the best choice for you or your business.

The next step is to write down how you plan to say no. If you’re responding via email, this might be a given, but it is important to practice - not only to feel more comfortable, but to do it in a way that strengthens the relationship, rather than pissing someone off. (We’ve all shot off the quick response that ended up not going over like we hoped.) So if you’re planning on saying no or not now in person or over the phone, write down what you plan to say in advance! And keep it short. You might choose to include a reason for saying no or not now, but don’t bog others down in your guilt—let them save their time for pursuing people who are interested in the opportunity! 

“Should I say yes or no?!” my entrepreneur client asked me.

Transitions are hard. They are especially hard for entrepreneurs because we don’t move in and out of jobs like typical employees. Plus, structure usually isn’t our thing. We’re pretty comfortable with ambiguity and, having grown companies from the ground up, we’re used to roles evolving organically.

When we do face a change that demands a transition — adding a board position, selling our company, or hiring a C-level executive to take over some of our responsibilities — it can be unfamiliar and challenging.

Most people dread meetings. Stuffy conference rooms, bored people, and they usually seem to drag on forever. Over the years I have learned that walking meetings are a great format for one-on-one meetings, and are great for groups of three people as well. Not only are they far more engaging and fun, they also offer clear benefits related to physical health, relationship building, efficiency and creativity.

One of Awesome’s values is Apply Curiosity. Being curious is a powerful antidote to those times that you are frustrated or just don’t feel like being an understanding, connected leader. Here’s how to get into a curious mindset -- and it’s easier than you might think.

There are times when I’m sure I am right, when I’m sure the other person is wrong, when I’m angry or frustrated, or when I just don’t care. You may have felt like this at some point too. Those are the times that curiosity is the most valuable.

Here are some of the reasons curiosity helps most when it feels most wrong:

“We screwed up my biggest account. What should I do?!”  

Sarah, one of my younger employees came to me early one Thursday morning in a panic.  I had to quickly decide how to react. Should I micromanage, decide for her, or risk losing everything?

Big picture, how can you train your team to handle the infinite number of problems that can emerge every day? The answer is simple: You can’t.

A few days ago I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and a post from an entrepreneur acquaintance of mine caught my eye.  Essentially, it was “I just got a business email with the subject ‘my feelings’.  Can you believe it?  I’m not even sure how to respond.”

I was stunned. I felt empathy for whoever it was that wrote that email, and I was offended by the Facebook comments that seemed to almost mock that author.  And then I remembered that not so long ago, that was me, paralyzed when confronted with feelings in business.  And then I felt empathy for the entrepreneur, too.

A few years ago, something started to dawn on me.   

Business is about humans.