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No great ideas here, just a good read.

In fact, there's one colleague of mine (and confirmed reader of this blog) who I know needs to read this article. Actually, I suspect all of us do. The article explores the question of why it is so hard for adults to say no, even when we want to or should. And now I have to put William Ury's The Power of a Positive No on my Christmas list.

And then I read the sidebar to this article and I realized something. When you do say "yes" just about all the time, it is noticed and respected. You may get teased about it behind your back (to my colleague -- don't worry, nobody teases you as far you know), but it's with admiration. And when I look at the sidebar, saying yes to those things is how you get ahead. And if you start off with a no, you don't get asked again, missing future opportunities. So anybody who thinks they're not getting the job/title/salary they are entitled to, start by asking yourself how often you get asked to do more than is expected--and how often you say "yes."

(And for the people who just can't say "no" -- read the article and bow out every now and then. As long as you have a "yes" track record, you'll still get asked in the future.)