Part 1 Saying “yes” too much? Knowing how goals are different from priorities can change that.
Sometimes the best strategy is to streamline your strategy. Refining some planning and assessment activities could help ensure your to do, to think, and to evaluate lists are doable. Other times we just need a practical way to begin or make progress – without biting off more than we can (or should) chew. Either way, look no further for some sensible alternative routes to your goal.

Table of Contents
1. Checking Our Responses: How the alternative to “yes” can still be “yes”
2. Goals versus Priorities
3. Defining Your Alternatives
4. What's Next
5. Resources to Fill Your Toolbox
Key Takeaways
Check your responses for scope stretch by making sure that the response is specific to the current organizational plan or position.
Some conditions are not conditions at all, so specificity about when you will say yes to what is within your capacity, mission, values, or scope will ensure you mean what you say.
Consider available alternatives to yes that include qualifiers, which reflect organizational capacity and the best possible outcome.
Checking Our Responses: How the alternative to “yes” can still be “yes”
Social impact organizations tend to believe that every opportunity is a good one. Be that for a grant, new staff member, collaboration, target market, board idea, or project for any the above. Unfortunately, repeated practice shows that saying yes too much just creates more work, less time to do work, more requirements, less time to understand or comply with requirements, more funding for more work with less staff, and a whole host of other challenges.
Sure, this could be due to poor management, lack of foresight, very loud voices, or temptingly shiny projects. But more often, this is a scope issue.
Scope issues happen when we say yes, but really should mean:
Yes, but not right now
Yes, but not at that price point or budget
Yes, but not in that market
Yes, but not for that population
Yes, but not with only this staff
Yes, if it works with or can be an expansion of our existing programing
Yes, if it gets us to our 1-year, 3-year, or 5-year goal
Yes, if we can be a partner instead of the lead
Yes, if this allows us to add funds to our reserve
Yes, if this is one of our clearly stated existing priorities
Any of these if’s and but’s can be replaced with a different if or but, or even with a very specific person, place, or thing. The key is making sure that the response is specific to the current organizational plan or position.
We must check our response for scope stretch.

This means that saying yes cannot be conditioned only on:
“Capacity”
Especially, not without specifically identifying who’s capacity, for what, and what capacity is actually needed. Don’t let the idea of capacity (either a lack thereof or potential for an inscrutable more) become an unfiltered yes.
“The good of the population”
The population can only be well served by an organization that can commit to fully carrying out their promises to them in the form of intentional, equitable, and inclusive programing that is executed to meet the population’s needs. “Good” is not good enough on its own.
“Additional funding”
More funds do not always equal more time, money, ability, progress, or effectiveness. Therefore, it must be clear how the additional funds will not subtract from your existing staffing abilities, program effectiveness, or progress towards your goals or priorities.
“Mission”
Social impact missions tend to be big, even when expressed with specificity. Agreeing to something on mission, does not mean you are moving toward your goals or addressing your priorities. It actually could mean you are adding goals or priorities under a broad missional umbrella.
“Values”
Just because something is just or it resonates with your values does not mean it is worth pursuing without parameters. Values are guides and foundational starting points. Begin understanding whether to say yes by checking alignment then assess whether yes fits in your scope.
Essentially, potential yeses can be viewed from two similar angles:
How do we want to feel after saying yes? and
Where do we want to be after saying yes?
This is the opportunity to qualify what you do, when you do, how you do it, and for whom you do it in the context of your why. This allows for operating with your capacities and the best possible outcome in mind.

Goals versus Priorities
The next question you should resolve before saying yes (and definitely before looking for something else to say yes to!) is, what are your priorities?
Your priorities are more critical to your next yes than your goals. This is because your goals set your priorities. Confused yet? Let’s think through this.
Whether it is a mission, a strategic plan, or a set of ideas about where you want to go, your goals are big picture, hopefully, time-limited objectives. They are the object of your ambition and effort. They are the aim or intended result. These are long range in the sense that they are a purpose or something you work towards achieving. There is always a journey before reaching the goal.[1]
So, if there is a journey, there must be steps. Those steps should take you as directly as possible to your objective. Those steps should come ordered for constant progress towards defined goals. This should not limit experimentation or prohibit adaptation or evolution. Instead, this is collaborating before planning and operating before evaluating. This looks like identifying and centering what matters most, what is necessary for future steps, and what needs doing that other future steps are dependent upon. It is also making sensible choices about what you will focus on in your current capacity. Those choice steps are your priorities. Priorities decide what is most important to address before other activities or alternatives. [2]

Defining Your Alternatives
Hone in on your response. There’s no rule that when you say yes, you must agree to everything as is. Instead, consider how you can say yes in your current circumstances with existing goals and priorities in mind. This way the possible alternatives to a blanket yes become much clearer.
Consider how every grant opportunity, partner request, board recommendation, or project continuation could be viewed from this perspective. Instead of moving forward with no parameters or agreeing with every idea as is, scope out the best possible outcome for the organization and its current staff, clients, and budget.
Then say yes only when you really mean it will work.
Endnotes
[1] Goal. (2023). The Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from here. [2] Priorities. (2023) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/priority.

What’s Next
Consider
What have you said yes to that you could have better qualified?
What conditions about your mission, goals, or capacities do you need to make more specific in the future?
When was the last time the priorities towards your goals were named, shared, and used to make decisions?
Stay Tuned
Watch this space for more ideas on how to refine your approach. Up next, we discuss a simple but ingenious opportunity for clear direction and peak effectiveness when you don’t have time or resources for strategic planning.

Resources to Fill Your Toolbox
1. On how to set priorities from Bridgespan “Leaders, Are You Setting Personal Strategic Priorities?”, available here.
2. “10 Ways to Kill Your Nonprofit” describes some familiar actions all with a similar undercurrent – all those yesses in the form of things an organization takes on – that can kill it, available here.
This post is part of the “Refinement: Success in the Streamlined Approach” series.
If you need ideas or support to streamline or improve your processes, please reach out. From decision-making frameworks to goal setting, action planning, and board assessments, I’ve seen it and done it. Let me know how I can help you achieve your values-oriented goals. If you would just like to chat or partner, I’m here for that too!
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