#short on Internal Politics

When you're trying to tell someone "no" nicely...

SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES ARE YOUR FRIENDS.

Internal politics are part of every company, especially large ones. Optimization efforts aren't immune to this. How could they be? It spans across so many teams and functions.

Common questions related to this are around how to say "no" to bad or low-priority ideas without actually saying "no" or seeming like you're just pushing back for no good reason.

That's tough for a lot of people. Without strategic ways to do it, I agree, it is tough.

*Insert systems and processes here.*

Teams should have the following: (1) an insight repository, (2) a prioritization framework, and (3) a roadmap. Shockingly, many don't have any or all of those things.

So then when you need to push back on someone... You can point to facts or supporting evidence. You can share how their idea ranked against other priorities in an objective manner. You can share how their idea falls into the timeline of work relative to other initiatives.

Perhaps the idea doesn't even merit making it into the prioritization framework and/or roadmap? Guessing that's probably because there's not enough (or no) data related to the idea in the first place. Then you just share that you'll have to do more research first, which should also have priorities and a roadmap. 😬

Saying no is often more objective than many think it is (or at least it should be).