<b> Bold Interactive Inc.

Setting boundaries may seem counterproductive to the YES Mentality, but therein lies the irony. Good boundaries actually empower your YES.

Create Partnerships Instead of Overpromising

If a client comes to us and wants a print brochure or a trade show display, that falls outside our service offering. But if we partner with other vendors in the marketing and communications industry, we can make recommendations instead of just simply saying “We don’t do that. Too bad, so sad.”

Or worse. We could say “Sure, we’ll do that for you.” And then scramble to provide services outside of our niche. But that’s a false yes. A true yes means being honest about our business, not promising what we can’t deliver.

Creating partnerships instead of just saying NO is helpful because it means there’s a higher chance of a solid integration between both offline and online campaigns.

Choose Who to Say YES To

In the consulting world, sometimes you have to break off a relationship with a client. They don’t implement your deliverables and then they complain about not seeing results. When you’ve done all you can for a client like this, sometimes you have to say YES to the idea of saying goodbye to them.

When you do so, you free yourself up to say YES to more amicable clients. Those relationships will be more productive and successful, benefiting both parties.

Boundaries help define which YES you should choose.

Saying Yes to the Right Boundaries

Recently, I learned of a workplace where an employee was told not to take initiative. That’s the kind of boundary that is too tight. Meanwhile, other employees are given authority beyond their expertise. That’s a boundary that’s too loose.

One way to explore boundaries is through consensus. At one of my previous jobs, my department participated in an exercise where group consensus was proven to be the best course of action. First, we worked independently to decide which tools and supplies would be most important in the event we were stranded in the Amazon jungle. We rated each supply according to what we thought was most crucial. Then we came together as a group to rate the supplies. Guess what? The group score was better than any individual’s score. As a group, we could have survived much better than we could have as individuals.

The same is true in business. Engaging in conversations with your customers, clients, employees and partners will help you reach conclusions that are even better than the ones you come up with on your own.

Setting boundaries will give power to your YES. But you must say yes to the right boundaries. Practice the tips from yesterday’s post on embracing the Yes Mentality and engage in conversations with various and relevant groups. From there, you’ll find your way.

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