The Power of a Positive No guides the reader through the three-part process to prepare, deliver and follow through in getting to a positive way to nay-say. Telling somebody No doesn't come easy especially when trying to please a client who asks to move up the delivery date. You're afraid to decline because it means losing future business, respect and perhaps, your job.
The Power of a Positive No not only helps you improve your negotiating skills in such work situations, but it also applies to your personal life. With the tips in the book, you won't fear the consequences of saying No, and you'll find ways to make the situation work out for everyone.
Have you fallen into one of the three-A traps? Tripping up in one of these traps means the person takes steps to Accommodate, Attack or Avoid when encountering a No situation. These traps won't make anyone in the situation feel good about the solution. Accommodate means saying Yes when we want to say No. Attack means saying No poorly. Avoid means saying nothing at all and not taking care of the problem.
The book digs up situations that you know you could've handled better. Applying the concepts from the book to past situations will prepare you for doing better next time without worry of blowback. Self-help books face the challenge of encouraging their readers to change. The idea of a positive negative sounds difficult — and it isn't easy either — but it will come to readers if they take the time to understand and apply Ury's advice. Don't expect bandage-style advice that can fix anything with a simple stick-on.
Of course, you could prepare and set up a great response for a positive No, but what if the requestor doesn't take No for an answer? Ury shows how to prepare Plan B, a backup plan. He also shares a decent amount of real-life examples, large (court case involving a large company and a customer) and small (not having time to help), of how people handled such situations.
Crack the book and it takes no time to become engrossed in Ury's clear and breezy writing style. The book flows and the length satisfies. Fans of the Ury's classic best-seller will appreciate this one and won't feel a sense of déjà vu in having read Getting to Yes.
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