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45 Responses to “Pinkcast 1.7: How to decide whether to say yes or no.”

  1. Bill Denyer says:

    A “Hell Yes” to your cool suggestion!

  2. Govind says:

    Hell – thanks.

  3. Bonnie Koeplin says:

    Interesting. At times it’s a “Hell NO,” too!
    Thank you.
    Love getting the Pinkcasts.

  4. Richard Carey says:

    Great idea. Will put this to work this week.

  5. Jackie Regan says:

    …and this is easier to do-when you have already figured out what IS important to you!

  6. Ariel says:

    Two thumbs up!

  7. Wendy says:

    Hell yes to watching more of Daniel’s Pinkcasts.

  8. Today I had to decide, should I keep the Pinkcast off my unroll.me list. After watching this one the the answer is “hell yes”. Keep ’em coming.

  9. Janelle Burns says:

    Well some of us like to ponder awhile, not everything is “Hell Yes!”…some gray areas require thought and consideration or clarity. I am a quick decision-maker by nature, but do encounter situations where further research is required.

    What happens if your immediate reaction to everything is, “No”? or “Let me sleep on it.”? in order to review the consequences of my decision; financial impact, ultimate results, etc.

    • Avatar photo Dan Pink says:

      Good point, Janelle. Really big decisions obviously require deliberation. But for things like I mentioned — should I go to this conference — I like the “Hell Yes” standard. Thanks for watching.

      • AB says:

        Should I go to this conference? Answering either way, yes or no – no problem, add a Hell too if you wish -, most likely won’t involve any risk. If you go, that’s great. If you don’t go, chances are you won’t miss much Just read good articles and books instead and simply choose the authors wisely.

        But business decisions can have serious consequences. Please don’t rush into “Hell Yes” or “Hell No”, and don’t be arrogant. Saying the truth, takes courage. Taking a stand can be risky and your potential promotion, your career, your future might be at stake…”. Just use your head and firmly and respectfully say YES or NO.

      • Mukesh says:

        I have used this method earlier last year. I have found that this approach has only one flaw – most of the times, it keeps us from serendipity.. IF you have to say hell yeah for every project that you take on, the chances are that you only keep doing things that interest you and you leave no chance for interesting things that you might not consider a hell yeah kind of opportunity but could potentially lead to a hell yeah moment..

        I have changed the practice by asking the following question – if the opportunity is something that I am familiar with or know about, then a hell yeah or no is the right approach.

        However, if the opportunity is something that I don’t know much about and promises me to take me to new places, I more or less give a “yeah” rather than a “no”..

  10. Mike says:

    Hell yes!

    This correlates perfectly to a TED Radio Hour podcast I listened to recently that addressed becoming more selective the older we get. This enables us to spend more time on what is important to us, makes a difference in the world, or is truly necessary. As we realize that we don’t have infinite time on earth, we need to become more jealous of where we spend our time.

    “Hell yes” helps to accomplish selectivity.

    • Rasool Verjee says:

      Ah the wisdom of growing older and understanding that time is precious. This rings true for me but I must say I miss the reckless spirit that drove me as an entrepreneur and I said Hell Yeah more often then I do now.

  11. Jeff Lincoln says:

    My two thumbs are up as well. Having been in sales for some time (I learned we all are in one way or another from a good book I recently read), this seems to apply to the sales process as well.

  12. Yes! I love this tip too, and have shared it with my readers. I’m super grateful for the “Yes’es” you’ve given me, Dan! And if you ever ask me for anything, my answer will always be “HELL YEAH DAN!” Keep up the good work.

  13. Alejandro T says:

    Cool Daniel!!!!! If I am not going to be excited about the decision, it is a big no

  14. David says:

    This is what I have done for years. When it is a definite yes, it’s not just my intellect that tells me so: It’s my whole body that starts to move in that direction, eager to get going.

    Isn’t it just like love?

  15. David Antol says:

    I think that your reply to Janelle was spot on Hell, I have not been saying no enough!

  16. Love this idea. Only go for HELL YES!! I’ve heard about this before – but had forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder!! πŸ™‚

  17. Laura Rush says:

    AWESOME! Can’t wait to use this technique.

  18. Michael says:

    Hello Dan,

    hell yes, i really like those quick sessions. Thanks for that,
    Michael.

  19. Eric says:

    Love ’em all and this one’s my favorite – Thanks Dan.

  20. I love this technique and tend to use it a lot. What happens if there are too many, or conflicting, ‘Hell Yeahs’?

    I love this technique if you really have to choose – http://thebln.com/2012/01/the-ten-pence-split-second-decision-making-tool-you-already-own/

  21. I love this idea but now am torn. Chip and Dan Heath, in their book Decisive, warn against going with your gut. They recommend the WRAP model which I have used quite successfully. Daniel Kahneman, in his book Thinking Fast and Slow, warns against letting your System 1 thinking take over when more thought is required – which also makes sense to me. The ‘Hell yeah’ approach seems to be based on an immediate ‘gut’ reaction to a request in which System 1 thinking takes over. I imagine it will be very useful at times but like other contributors to this thread I’m not sure it’s so cut and dry.

    Thank you for the tip Dan and keep the Pinkcasts coming.

    • Avatar photo Dan Pink says:

      Good point, Michael. I like the WRAP method, too — especially the W part that calls for reframing “whether” questions. On the other hand, it seems there are so many things pelting us each day that for many of them, a simple rule of thumb can help. At least it does for me. Thanks for watching.

    • Tim Griffith says:

      Michael you took my exact thoughts and verbalized them more eloquently than I probably would have!

      Where I’ve landed is: typically heuristics are helpful as mental shortcuts when we’re looking for efficiency, so perhaps this method works best when efficiency of decision making is most important (e.g. for the many relatively low-stakes decisions we have to make each day/week/month).

      Where heuristics get us intro trouble is when we use these mental shortcuts when more System 2 thinking would be beneficial, and a framework like WRAP would be a better way to think through a choice.

      Just a thought…now I’m interested to see if I can apply this perspective and see how it plays out in real life…cheers, and thanks Dan!

  22. Rick says:

    This is good, but I think you can miss some opportunities because they seems bland. The other thing is that it rides strictly on positive emotion instead of what is really best. As an alternative I recommend the “If I was going to die in 30 days, would I do this?”

  23. Lou Prosperi says:

    Another great Pinkcast! Thanks Dan!

  24. Really loved the simplicity of the message. As one reader noted being constantly bombarded with requests or opportunities, a “hell yes” can quickly establish your priorities.

    Thank you. Keep ’em coming.

  25. Michelle Ryan says:

    Love love love this one! Each pink cast gets better and better, great job Dan! Maybe more often would be nice!??!

  26. Lisa Sansom says:

    Hm. Sometimes I don’t do a “hell YES” but it’s a “have to” because family, because responsibilities, because whatever. Example, do I do a “hell YES” to meeting my son’s teacher after he’s whipped a tennis ball at the teacher’s head? Hell no – but I say “yes” to that meeting because family, because responsibilities, because I really do have to for something that is more important than my own immediate gut rush of excitement. So yeah.

  27. Courtney says:

    I tend to agree that most decisions have many grey areas. However, this is a simple approach for those of us who have difficulty deciding.
    CD Baby is really only good for the owner of the website who charges the artist to host. Many musicians pay their fee every month and do not sell anything. To be fair, CD Baby should only charge when a song is purchased. It’s like getting your merchandise for free. This is why it is so hard to make it as an artist. My two cents!

  28. Bruce Hirshfield says:

    With all the nonsense stuff coming across our (respective) desks these days, we need the “hell yes” as a simple and effective decision aid. My cautionary note would be that gut reactions are, in part, subject to our conditioning… in a George Mead sense. Additionally, the fight or flight “limbic” reaction can affect how we weight decisions. For example, getting an invite to a co-workers farewell party when your personal experience with this individual may be unfavorable but office politics dictate attending.

    Thanks for another great PinkCast. Keep ’em coming, Dan.

  29. Jozsef says:

    I use this approach for hiring new managers into my organization. (Maybe is a no.)

  30. Stephen (from New Zealand) says:

    Hi Dan, my natural reaction is to say ‘no’ to opportunities. I have been trying to change this reflex as it has undoubtedly cost me many valuable experiences. In my own case, “Hell yeah” probably sets the bar too high. I recently read or heard a different approach (I’m afraid I can’t recall where) which works better for me, which is “what would you advise a friend to do?”.

    Thanks for the pinkcasts (and the books)

  31. Margot Tesch says:

    Love it! I have so much stuff coming into my inbox because I’ve signed up to learn about publishing and marketing myself on-line. It ends up taking up more time than I spend writing! I shall use this from now on, when I decide to read an email or watch a video etc.

    Margot

  32. Derek Sivers says:

    Wow! This just made my day. Dan, I’m a huge fan of your books, and both surprised and honored that you know and like my “hell yeah” post. Thank you!

    – Derek

  33. Claudia says:

    well, it’s the opposite of my well-used “why not?” principle, which got me into troubles many times. I’m adopting the “Hell, yes” right now. Keep you posted!

  34. Hella great Pinkcast, thank you Dan, thank you Derek!

  35. Darin says:

    This is the third time I’ve heard this great quote and tip within the past 24 hours. Synchronicity. I just used the “Hell Yeah” gut check for making a hiring decision.

  36. Dawn says:

    Another awesome Pinkcast! Thanks Dan. Best minute and a half of my day!

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