Been There Done That: Saying NO

Inspired by a Town Hall my company recently had and a conversation I had with a former colleague this week, this Thursday's Been There, Done That post is about saying no.

This is an important life skill in the sense that we need to know how to set boundaries across many facets of our lives (to needy friends, to dates you simply don't want to go on, to trips we cannot afford or maybe simply don't want to take) but this post will focus on saying no in a professional situation, specifically saying no to a new professional opportunity.

Now there are many different ways for a new opportunity to present itself. I won't even to attempt to exhaust this list since I'm sure it's impossible. But I do offer thoughts on a few that I've either personally been faced with or know others who have (again, I'm not going to tell you!) and thoughts on why and how people have said no, as well as how to make this assessment.  

Of course there are instances when you want to and should say yes (you could determine a lot of these by the below list as well!) And of course there are instances when you don't have the luxury to say no. There are also times when your no might be to a request rather than to an opportunity. These topics are all begging for future posts (spoiler!) but for now we'll focus on some ways to assess whether a no is right for a situation and how to deliver it.

Saying No to a New Professional Opportunity: Been There, Done That

Timing

Like my old friends they say, timing is everything. And sometimes the timing is just off. Maybe you or your spouse are planning to have a child, you're buying a house and this will complicate things, you just took a new role and you want to stick it out for at least a year.

No answer is wrong, if the timing just doesn't seem to fit don't force it. Maybe this opportunity will come back, maybe it won't; if it doesn't something else -- maybe better and better timed -- will come along.

Does it make sense?

In a similar way it needs to make sense to you. At the end of the day the choice is yours and only you know if it makes sense for you. This might be the "perfect" move for your career based on what your manager, mentor, executive, mother, former coworker, peer who envies you, peer who admires you thinks. At the end of the day you know what your end goals are (personal and professional, short-term, long-term, and super long-term).  

I have a friend, we'll call him Andrew, who decided not take an opportunity within a team he was on. This was really confusing to one of his peers. His peer would speak openly about the opportunity Andrew missed. Thing is just a few years later Andrew made a different jump that was even more beneficial. This jump that Andrew ended up making paid off even more, was aligned with what he wanted longer term, and the extra time Andrew spent in his initial role helped him make the move. Booyah. Yup, I just said booyah.

Business Health

Be sure any opportunity is aligned with where the business is going or will yield benefit to the company you're at or considering. If it doesn't or it feels too risky say no. How do you measure this? Read. Talk with coworkers or industry experts. Don't have any idea where to start or access to an expert? Google is your friend, my friend. Start with a broad search then use what you do know to hone in on trends or industry experts. Then search for key people or businesses on twitter and read their feeds or blogs.

Sure it's great to get in on something when it's being built up but consider its scalability and likelihood of success. Unless you're living off an inheritance you need to keep at least some Ramen on the table. Say no when it seems off.

Organization Dynamics

Biz health is very real, but so is organizational health. This can mean company, department, team, whatever. Whether you're considering staying on a team, joining a new company, working for a certain manager, don't discount dynamics. Hear that one manager doesn't give credit? A peer gossips or throws people under the bus? Perhaps there's been a lot of instability in one department. Again, if it seems off this might be your sign to say no.  

Gut Feeling

You can tap every resource you have, read every blog (yay!), follow every industry expert on twitter, and ask your most business savvy uncle with an Ivy League degree, but at the end of the day the choice is yours. So how do you know? Trust your gut.

How to Say No

You're not turning down Johnny for a date, but be just as tactful. Why does this matter? Well I'm personally a big believer in always presenting yourself in the best light and never burning bridges, so being thoughtful and having tact is key.

Final Thoughts and No, Don't Keep Reading if You Don't Want To :)

Sometimes you want a change, sometimes you don't. You know you best. Only accept what makes sense, works for, and feels good and right to you.

tips to succeed while working for a big company

Recently I was with two friends who were commiserating over their shared woes of working for big corporations (one’s Top 100, the other close behind). Theirs were common gripes: being a worker bee, a cog in a system; not being able to impact or change anything, the layers of red tape; the drawn out promotion track, etc. 

They both talked about wanting to be their own bosses, to run their own businesses one day. They’re both quite young and very early on in their careers. I encouraged them to really think about the advantages and opportunities they were being afforded by their large employers and capitalize on their current situations. 

Now I am pretty aware that I don't glamorize running a small business as much as other people may, but I do see the appeal. The thing is I also think there's a great appeal of working for a big company. Especially when you’re building the foundation of your career.

Of course there are small companies that fit in between these categories. I have worked for multiple small offices and I think there are loads of reasons everyone should have that experience under his or her belt as well. At another point I’ll focus on those thoughts but for now I will share some of the top benefits of working for -- intermingled with tips for surviving and succeeding at, -- a big company.

Top 10 Benefits of Working for a Big Company:

1. Learn what and how to learn about a company
In any company it's important to take the time to understand where you are. But it might never get easier for you to understand what you should be paying attention to and how  a company works than at a big company. Especially if you’re young in your career (just out of college or graduate school) a lot of them will spoon-feed you the information you need to know. This is the sort of information you should consider to seek out about companies throughout your career. Not sure what that is? Let me help: listen to the earnings calls, follow competitors, find out what your company values and learn about these things. 

2. Learn how to be purposeful in your moves
We all know that the moves you make within your career have huge impact on what your career becomes and therefore need to be done thoughtfully. Well the moves you make within a company should be done just as thoughtfully. Whether you’re in your dream role or you took a job with the hopes of it evolving to something new, stay planted for long enough to learn; this varies by company, person, team, where you are in your career, but generally is at least 1 year, more likely closer to 2. See below on company-specifics you should focus on learning about but also spend time learning about your role, your team, where your team fits into a larger department and company, general expectations, etc. Only once you understand how your role, team, and department fits into the lifeblood of a company do I recommend considering thoughtful and deliberate moves that will build your experience and help you grow professionally. 

3. Learn how to write a self appraisal, give, and accept feedback
While all companies have unique performance management methods, big companies tend to be a bit more formal (at lease somewhat) and their approaches often translate (again, at least somewhat) to other companies. As I’ve written about before (here and here) feedback is essential for your own growth. I suggest taking tips at least on how to write feedback from big companies with more tried and true approaches. Don’t like what your company does? Well there’s something to be said about that as well, store that away and don’t carry that with you. 

4. If you’re a people manager learn how to manage people
This has a similar caveat as feedback (that all companies vary) but in general large companies tend to have more formal training to create strong managers. Take advantage of these opportunities. Also remember that management is a two-way street and people manager trainings at large companies can often be helpful when interacting with managers of your own. Pay attention to what your big company has to offer, your future direct reports and managers will thank you. 

5. Capitalize on training opportunities
Again with the caveat here, but large companies often have more formal training opportunities and larger budgets. Some don’t even require you to take a training within the realm of your role. Take advantage of these opportunities, you’ll miss them once they’re gone. 

6. If you’re not in project management take the time to understand some basics

In my opinion, many, if not all, jobs have at least a lick of PM in them so understanding their view of the world is helpful. Complex companies tend to need project managers more than smaller ones and often have fined tuned ways of leveraging them. Consider how much value you might bring to a smaller company one day if you can simply understand how a good PM might tackle a complex deliverable.

7. Understand HR policies

Hopefully you’ll never have to report anything like harassment but you never know. Additionally less drastic things like what a company’s policy about being paid out for PTO are also very important. While HR policies are not the same from company to company, at big company this info is often readily accessible (sometimes on an intranet) so learn a bit so you know what’s standard. 

While there’s no standard HR policy I’ve found that generally there are similar tenants. It’s also not a bad idea to begin to get a sense of what’s standard across different companies, this can help you when thinking about negotiations with future employers. 

This is a drastic example but I know of a horror story from a friend at very small company who did not have a clear way to get some general but possibly awkward questions answered because the person to go to was her manager. Luckily she was able to bounce questions off me and likely some others and determine a way to approach this situation, though I think knowing some general principles and things like when and who to escalate what types of issues to, can end up being invaluable.

8. Learn how the different parts of the company fit and work together
As I’ve continued to caveat, all companies are different but I think there are general operating patterns. It’s easier to observe and understand these patterns in an established company since often they’re more clearly laid out. Who owns the P&L; how are customer analytics used and by whom; is social media owned by marketing or corporate communications? While this might not impact you directly it's never a bad thing to understand. Take the time to do this. 

9. Learn how to communicate with executives 

Notice how I said with rather than to. Figure out what an appropriate relationship/conversation with an executive is like at your company and develop this. Execs are high powered and can be intimidating but you need to be appropriately comfortable with them to succeed. You might as well start at a place where their roles are likely to be clearly defined. (An aside on this that I will expand on another time: Keep in mind one of my favorite tips

10. Get free stuff: swag, flu shots, you discounted gym membership, whatever 

Not much to expand on here and I’ll offer a new caveat that I like free stuff, but I think it’s totally true that some of the perks of a large company are the free things that you get. Take advantage of this while you can.

BONUS: 11. Don’t drink too much Kool-Aid
Don’t lose yourself. Yes, be a dedicated employee, but keep in mind your own values as well. 

Can you think of other benefits of big companies, or other tips to survive and succeed at them? Maybe you think small or mid-sized companies are infinitely better? Share away. I’ll revisit this topic and share the benefits of working for smaller organizations in the future.