Was there a time when you could just say "no"?

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Forgalspop

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Think of the last time someone asked you for something, and your answer in your head was a plain "no".

Did you just say "no" and move onto the next topic (or walk away), or did you have to spend extra time justifying your "no"? Did you voluntarily explain why your answer was no because you felt guilty?

It seems like people feel entitled to an explanation when the answer is no, but I don't understand where this is coming from. And on the same note, it seems like we've been trained to feel like we're commiting a wrong by saying "no" to things.

If a simple "yes" is a valid (and often awarded/celebrated) answer to a request or a question, why is a simple "no" not equally acceptable?
I find that most people have a difficult time telling themselves no. Myself included at times. Perhaps, that is why I have,.................................according to my wife too many guns. I think she has too many shoes and purses.

Adults are always telling kids no, but have a hard time telling themselves no................too many examples to list.
 

Boehlertaught

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How did she take that?

As for myself, I often have to say no. With reasonable people I try to be tactful. With unreasonable people my usual response is "What part of "NO" confused you? Was it the "N" or the "O"?
I like your n or the o. Ha ha. She took it OK I guess. I've been with this company for 30 years and I've seen various accountants make the business complicated. Yes the company had annual sales less than 10 million 30 years ago and now have 535 million annually. But there's no reason for the level of confusion and control the accountants want and created. I cheated my way through accounting at TU in the late 70s and even I know there doesn't need to be a form for everything. Simple seems to work too.
 

Snattlerake

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I like your n or the o. Ha ha. She took it OK I guess. I've been with this company for 30 years and I've seen various accountants make the business complicated. Yes the company had annual sales less than 10 million 30 years ago and now have 535 million annually. But there's no reason for the level of confusion and control the accountants want and created. I cheated my way through accounting at TU in the late 70s and even I know there doesn't need to be a form for everything. Simple seems to work too.
Precisely! SAP has been the downfall for many a corporation. When it was implemented in mine and they flew me to Houston and Boston every other month to learn how to put things into "buckets" and then learn if the people above me didn't do their job and create the "buckets" for me to put stuff into, the whole process stopped. I couldn't order parts for jobs or service calls, I couldn't do expense reports and we couldn't start new jobs. We called it Stop All Production.
 

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