It’s easy to say no! when there’s a deeper yes! burning inside. Stephen R. Covey

Have you become a “yes” person? Do you take on commitments, agree to meetings and make promises when you know you should be saying, no? Some people say yes out of fear, some because they want to be liked and some say yes simply because they have no focus or plan for themselves. Learning to say no is vital to your success and your sanity.

You must recognize that when you say yes, but wish you had said no, you don’t do anyone any favors. The other person believes you can and will deliver as promised – so they are now set up for failure. And you begin to feel overwhelmed knowing you have far too many commitments and can’t possibly keep them all. The stress caused by saying yes is huge and can become a cracking point for you and for your business.

Many people are afraid to say no for fear of loss or that the other person might be offended. The reality is people would much rather you say no now than find out last minute that you really couldn’t do what you said yes to.

The best way to have confidence in saying no, as Stephen Covey suggests, is to have a deep and very compelling yes burning inside of you. In other words, if you have clearly established your goals and priorities it becomes much easier to evaluate whether or not you should say yes to another commitment. You will also find that by having your deeper yes, you will no longer have the big guilt when saying no.

When saying no is the right thing to say, say it! Everyone will be better off in the end for it. Unfortunately when we say yes to too many low priority items we often end up having to say no to things that are truly important. A string of unnecessary yeses can often lead to saying no to the “opportunity of a lifetime” and often we say no to it by default.

Evaluate your current commitments – if there are some that are just out of the realm of possibility, deal with them now. By regularly reviewing your commitments you will become very good at saying no when needed and saying yes to the commitments that matter most.

The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed. Henry Ford

The one sure path to success in any area of business is to ensure you always give more in service than you expect to receive in compensation. This may seem counterintuitive as most people in today’s economy are striving to give the minimum amount of effort and service for what they are receiving in compensation.

When you focus on how little you can give for a dollar’s worth of effort you will find yourself, your career and your business on the path to mediocrity. When you start providing just the minimum requirements – it will be the beginning of the end for your job or your business.

On the other hand – when you are constantly searching for ways to make a difference, add value and exceed expectations your are on the path to high demands for you and your services and you will also be perfectly positioned to be better compensated for what you do.

September signifies the beginning of the final important push for the business year. It is the perfect time to evaluate your efficiencies, your effectiveness and what you can do to increase the demand for your goods and services.

Remember – if you want to be in demand and if you want to be able to easily charge the highest price – spend your time focused on ways to provide even more value.

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations. Steve Jobs

Innovation and entrepreneurial endeavors are messy to say the least. Often they are simply a series of failures leading toward ultimate success. Individuals and organizations are sometimes caught in the “we never fail” or “never admit a mistake” syndrome. Unfortunately, this can be become the greatest barrier to break-through thinking and real innovation.

Steve Jobs knows a thing or two about innovation. He also knows even more about failures and mistakes. It really is part of any business or any path to higher achievement. Tom Peters added that if you aren’t failing at your innovations 50% of the time, you aren’t trying hard enough and you are probably settling for mediocrity.

Is it easy for you to admit mistakes when you fail, particularly on innovative projects? More importantly, how safe is it within your team or group for others to admit their mistakes? If it is hard for you, chances are you are making it hard for your team. If it is hard for your team you will waste countless hours, and major opportunities, as people flounder, try to justify, point fingers or even place blame on others. In the end it can fracture your team, frustrate your people and cause your innovative efforts to fail.

Work to create a “fail-safe” environment and culture within your group – where in innovative efforts, it is safe to fail. Remember, you are shooting for excellence not perfection, especially when you innovating.

So go for it! Innovate! And when you or a team member fail, admit the mistake and move on toward greater innovation and success.