Don’t Take Yes for an Answer
Book

Don’t Take Yes for an Answer

Using Authority, Warmth, and Energy to Get Exceptional Results

Steve Herz
Harper, 2020
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Are you getting ahead at work? If not, perhaps you aren’t sufficiently “AWEsome.” Talent agent and career adviser Steve Herz says you’re AWEsome if you have “authority, warmth and energy.” He shows you how to cultivate and display these attributes to everyone, from your boss to your buddies. As a talent agent, Herz helps media stars shape how they present themselves to others: their posture, their body language, the way they speak and how they dress. In this “self-empowerment and self-assessment guide,” Herz shares his knowledge about how to present the best, most successful version of yourself – and to make that who you are.

Summary

You don’t need to hear “yes, yes, yes” all the time. You also need “no, no, no” to know where you stand.

Respected professionals who wish to become one of the top people in their field should never accept “yes” as an answer. This advice seems counterintuitive. The modern helicopter-parent society rewards everybody for everything and permits only positive feedback. No negativity is allowed, ever.This never-ending series of yeses and the constantly supportive, everybody-is-always-great positivity creates a problem, however. You can’t assess your performance with any degree of accuracy if no one will tell you the truth. 

Do you feel dissatisfied with your progress at work, despite your education, credentials, experience and hard-won expertise? Do you think you ought to have won that recent promotion or should otherwise be doing better?

In our “positive-feedback” society, most of your friends will affirm your point of view: Of course that promotion should have been yours! Well, here’s some honest feedback: With your impressive background, deep expertise and...

About the Author

Steve Herz is the president and founding partner of IF Management and a frequent contributor on CNBC, CNN and Court TV.

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