What if that job you proactively turned down was actually going to pay really well, or be an offer for a position above what was listed?  If you say no before you get any offer, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.

This is for startups too.  Why say no to an investor you haven’t heard back from? Why say no to an idea you haven’t heard yet?

All too often, I am in meetings where the leader of the meeting is in a rush, or can’t possibly imagine that someone else’s idea could be better in any way… so they don’t bother to ask or listen to other opinions.  This is the path to failure: of our team, of your company, heck, you may just be alienating yourself right out of any friends you think you had.

Stop. Listen. Be OPEN to new ideas.  It’s the least we can do for each other as humans.