No Is the 2nd Best Answer

Sometimes in business we struggle to provide a definitive answer to a difficult decision. A customer may struggle to make a decision to buy a product or service; a company to close a business deal; a manager to make a personnel change. All decisions have a decision cycle, a duration of time that once the critical facts are available, is required to make a call. But when the decision cycle has elapsed, it is important for both the decision-maker and the recipients of the decision to realize: an answer is better than none at all. In other words, sometimes no is the second best answer.